Anupama advances to second round but Lakshya, Prannoy stumble in India Open

Kiran George was the only Indian to survive in men's singles as Lakshya Sen, Priyanshu Rajawat, and HS Prannoy all suffered contrasting defeats on Day 2 of the $ 950,000 Super 750 tournament

New Delhi: Former national champion Anupama Upadhyaya advanced to the second round, but India’s men’s singles campaign suffered a setback as none of the players could make it past the opening round on Day 2 of the India Open here on Wednesday.

For all the talk of home advantage, Kiran George was the only Indian to survive in men’s singles as Lakshya Sen, Priyanshu Rajawat, and HS Prannoy all suffered contrasting defeats on Day 2 of the $ 950,000 Super 750 tournament.

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In women’s singles, Anupama joined PV Sindhu in the second round, defeating her good friend and fellow Gopichand Academy trainee Rakshitha Sree 21-17, 21-18. “This is my first time playing in India Open Super 750 level. Last year, I was just watching all of them play. Before this, I had played in the Super 500 but the standard at this level is different. Last year, I played my first 750 in China and last week also played the Malaysia Super 1000. These performances help me believe that I can be their equal. I have the speed and compatibility against the top players,” said Anupama.

The 19-year-old from Almora will now face former world junior champion and sixth seed Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan. Priyanshu put up a valiant fight before succumbing 16-21, 22-20, 13-21 to world number 7 Kodai Naraoka of Japan in a physical battle that lasted an hour and 22 minutes. Meanwhile, Prannoy was defeated by Su Li Yang of Chinese Taipei 21-16, 18-21, 12-21 on the adjacent court.

Lakshya, who won the Syed Modi International Super 300 title last month, sunk to a 15-21 10-21 loss to Chinese Taipei’s Chun Yi-Lin in another opening-round match. Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa, who clinched the Guwahati Masters title last month, eased past Kavya Gupta and Radhika Sharma 21-11, 21-12 to advance to the second round.

The Panda sisters, Rutuparna and Swetaparna, also advanced to the second round with a remarkable come-from-behind win, overcoming Thailand’s Phattharin Aiamvareesrisakul and Sarisa Janpeng 7-21, 21-19, 21-14.

The mixed doubles combination of Ashith Surya and Amruta Pramuthesh then teamed up to beat K Tarun and Sri Krishna Priya Kudaravalli 21-14, 21-15 to advance to the second round. In the morning, Aakarshi Kashyap fell to Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong 17-21, 13-21 in the opening round.

Malvika Bansod, who has emerged as the second-best Indian after Sindhu, showed glimpses of her potential but fell short against world number 4 Han Yue of China.

Malvika, who had lost to Han in straight games at the Malaysia Open last week, was 14-11 up in the opening game. However, soft errors crept in and a cross-court shot from Han on the Indian’s forehand allowed her to claw back to 15-15. The battle intensified, and a smash from Han gave her two game points. Malvika saved both after Han went wide twice, and the Indian earned a game point herself after Han sprayed the shuttle wide. Malvika sealed the game when Han again sent the shuttle wide.

After the break, Han surged to a quick 6-0 lead in the second game. Malvika displayed great resilience, extending the rallies and making her opponent play extra shots. Han’s errors began to accumulate, and Malvika clawed her way back to 16-15.

However, Malvika faltered with a wide shot and a net error, allowing Han to regain control. Han eventually clinched the game 21-16 and the match 21-11 in the decider.

“In just under five days, I’ve managed to take a game and make necessary corrections. So, next time, it will be much better,” Malvika said after the match. “I need to be both physically and mentally stronger. My father has been taking care of my physical training since I started playing, but I’d like to work with some top fitness trainers because we need to crack this, and reaching this stage without much external help is a big deal,” she added.

World No. 1 and Olympic champion Korea’s An Se Young made a solid start to her campaign, beating Chinese Taipei’s Chiu Pin-Chian 22-20, 21-15, while double Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen registered a 16-21, 21-11, 21-13 win over Yu Jen Chi, also from Taipei.