Korea Masters: Tanvi Sharma leads strong Indian women’s singles showing, Srikanth exits
Mixed Fortunes for Indian Shuttlers in Korea
Indian badminton players experienced a day of mixed outcomes at the Korea Masters Badminton tournament in Asan. While seven Indian women’s singles players successfully advanced to the second round, all six Indian men’s singles shuttlers faced first-round exits. In the men’s doubles, an unseeded Indian pair delivered a notable upset, securing their spot in the next stage of the competition.
Among the women, Anmol Kharb, Mansi Singh, Rakshitha Ramraj, Ashmita Chaliha, Isharani Baruah, Tanvi Sharma, and Shriyanshi Valishetty all registered victories to progress. Their performances highlighted a strong showing for India in the women’s singles category.
Anmol Kharb overcame Lo Sin Yan of Hong Kong China with a score of 16-21, 21-17, 21-12. Mansi Singh staged a comeback against Korea’s Kim Joo Eun, winning 14-21, 21-19, 21-9. Rakshitha Ramraj defeated Korea’s A Yeon Yoo 22-24, 21-12, 21-13, and Ashmita Chaliha secured a win over Japan’s Ririna Hiramoto with scores of 22-20, 21-18.
Isharani Baruah beat Korea’s Lee So Hee 18-21, 21-15, 21-7. Tanvi Sharma defeated China’s An Qi Yuan 21-16, 21-15, showcasing a strong performance. Shriyanshi Valishetty also moved forward, beating Chinese Taipei’s Yu Po Pai 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 Struggles and Doubles Upset
The men’s singles category saw a challenging day for India, with several prominent players exiting the tournament in the opening round. Former world number one Kidambi Srikanth was among those who suffered first-round defeats. Other Indian men’s singles players who exited included Mithun Manjunath, Kiran George, Rounak Chouhan, Saneeth Dayanand, and Tharun Mannepalli.
In the men’s doubles, the unseeded Indian pair of Krishna Prasad Garaga and Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy delivered a significant upset. They defeated the sixth-seeded Thai duo of Chaloempon Charoenkitamorn and Worrapol Thongsa-Nga in straight games, with scores of 21-16, 21-18. This victory secured their progression to the second round of the Korea Masters Super 300 tournament.
The match lasted 42 minutes, with the Indian pair effectively overcoming their higher-ranked opponents. Krishna Prasad Garaga and Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy are scheduled to face the Korean pair of Y Kim and T Shin in the Pre-Quarterfinals. This follows their win that allowed them to advance to the second round yesterday.
However, not all Indian men’s doubles pairs found success. The combination of Achutaditya Rao Doddavarapu and Arjun Reddy Pochana was eliminated in their opening match, losing 3-21, 10-21 to the second-seeded pair of Sol Gyu Choi of Korea and V Shem Goh of Malaysia.
Mixed Doubles and Women’s Doubles Results
In the mixed doubles event, the sixth-seeded Indian pair of Shruti Mishra and Ishaan Bhatnagar advanced to the next round. They secured a win against fellow Indian players Sathwik Reddy Kanapuram and Radhika Sharma.
The women’s doubles also saw some Indian pairs progress. Sonali Singh and Ritika Thaker entered the second round after defeating Korea’s Ji Sun Bang and Hyun Ji Jang. However, the pair of Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Minshra faced elimination in the opening round of women’s doubles. They were defeated by the second-seeded Japanese pair of Ririna Hiramoto and Kokona Ishikawa with scores of 15-21, 13-21.
In the men’s singles qualifiers, Tushar Suveer won his opening match against Canada’s Shaurya Gullaiya, with scores of 21-15, 21-12. However, he subsequently lost in the next round to Japan’s Shogo Ogawa, 10-21, 17-21.
The tournament continues with various Indian shuttlers aiming to advance further in their respective categories following these initial rounds.
Source: newsonair.gov.in
