Korea Masters: Mixed results for Indian shuttlers, women advance while men’s singles falter
Indian Women’s Singles Players Show Strong Performance
Indian shuttlers experienced a day of mixed fortunes at the Korea Masters Badminton tournament in Asan. A significant highlight was the strong showing by the women’s singles contingent, with seven Indian women’s singles players successfully advancing to the second round of the competition. This performance contrasts with the men’s singles category, where all six Indian participants were eliminated in their opening matches.
Among the women who progressed, Anmol Kharb secured her spot in the second round by defeating Lo Sin Yan of Hong Kong China with a score of 16-21, 21-17, 21-12. Mansi Singh also advanced after a comeback victory against Korea’s Kim Joo Eun, winning 14-21, 21-19, 21-9. Rakshitha Ramraj overcame A Yeon Yoo of Korea with scores of 22-24, 21-12, 21-13, while Ashmita Chaliha defeated Japan’s Ririna Hiramoto 22-20, 21-18.
Further demonstrating India’s strength in the women’s singles, Isharani Baruah beat Korea’s Lee So Hee 18-21, 21-15, 21-7. Tanvi Sharma also moved forward, defeating China’s An Qi Yuan 21-16, 21-15. Shriyanshi Valishetty completed the impressive run for Indian women by advancing past Chinese Taipei’s Yu Po Pai with scores of 21-15, 21-14. However, Aakarshi Kashyap was eliminated in the round of 32 after a loss to Korea’s Min Ji Kim.
Men’s Singles and Doubles See Varied Outcomes
In the men’s singles category, the tournament proved challenging for the Indian contingent. Former world number one Kidambi Srikanth, along with Mithun Manjunath, Kiran George, Rounak Chouhan, Saneeth Dayanand, and Tharun Mannepalli, all faced first-round defeats. Additionally, Tushar Suveer, who won his men’s singles qualifier against Shaurya Gullaiya of Canada with scores of 21-15, 21-12, subsequently lost in the next round to Japan’s Shogo Ogawa 10-21, 17-21.
The men’s doubles category, however, brought a notable upset for India. The unseeded pair of Krishna Prasad Garaga and Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy delivered a strong performance at the Korea Masters Super 300. They secured a straight-games victory over the sixth-seeded Thai duo of Chaloempon Charoenkitamorn and Worrapol Thongsa-Nga, with scores of 21-16, 21-18. This win propelled them into the second round of the tournament.
The match lasted 42 minutes, showcasing their efficiency against their higher-ranked opponents. Garaga and Roy are now set to compete in the Pre-Quarterfinals, where they will face the Korean pair of Y Kim and T Shin. This upcoming match will determine their further progression in the tournament.
Mixed Doubles and Other Doubles Results
In the mixed doubles event, the sixth-seeded Indian pair of Shruti Mishra and Ishaan Bhatnagar advanced to the next round. They achieved this by defeating fellow Indian players Sathwik Reddy Kanapuram and Radhika Sharma.
However, not all Indian doubles pairs were successful. In the women’s doubles, Sonali Singh and Ritika Thaker managed to enter the second round after a victory against Korea’s Ji Sun Bang and Hyun Ji Jang. Conversely, the Indian women’s doubles pair of Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Minshra were eliminated in the opening round, losing to the second seeds Ririna Hiramoto and Kokona Ishikawa of Japan with scores of 15-21, 13-21.
The men’s doubles also saw another Indian pair, Achutaditya Rao Doddavarapu and Arjun Reddy Pochana, crash out in the first round. They were defeated 3-21, 10-21 by the second-seeded combination of Sol Gyu Choi of Korea and V Shem Goh of Malaysia. The tournament continues to unfold with various outcomes for the Indian contingent across different categories.
Source: newsonair.gov.in
