Kuala Lumpur, May 20 (PTI) India’s Malvika Bansod, Ashmita Chaliha and Devika Sihag emerged as the lone bright spots on an otherwise disappointing day for the country at the Malaysia Masters Super 500 here, advancing to the women’s singles second round with contrasting wins on Wednesday.
Malvika, who is on a comeback trail after recovering from an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury that required surgery, fought back strongly to beat Germany’s world No. 52 Yvonne Li 21-17 16-21 21-9, while Ashmita registered a comfortable 21-16 21-13 victory over Indonesia’s world No. 56 Thalita Ramadhani Wiryawan.
Malvika will face Denmark’s eighth seed Line Højmark Kjaersfeldt, while Ashmita takes on Malaysia’s Goh Jin Wei next.
India’s Devika Sihag, who won the Thailand Masters in February this year, saw off Park Ga Eun of Korea 19-21, 21-18, 21-19.
Sathwik Reddy Kanapuram and Radhika Sharma advanced to the next round in mixed doubles after rallying to beat Scotland’s Alexander Dunn and Julie Macpherson 16-21 21-14 21-18.
However, India also suffered a string of early exits across categories.
In men’s singles, eighth seed Lakshya Sen, the brightest Indian prospect, crashed out after a shock 17-21 11-21 defeat to Indonesia’s world No. 38 Moh. Zaki Ubaidillah.
HS Prannoy, the 2023 Asian games and World Championships bronze winner, too bowed out after a marathon battle against Japan’s sixth seed Kodai Naraoka, losing 17-21 22-20 22-24 in an 80-minute contest, while Kiran George retired after trailing 15-21 1-6 against France’s seventh seed Alex Lanier.
In another match, Tharun Mannepalli squandered a one-game advantage to lose 21-17 14-21 8-21 against Chinese Taipei’s Wang Po-Wei.
In women’s singles, Anmol Kharb fought hard before going down 21-13 16-21 19-21 to Denmark’s eighth seed Line Christophersen Kjærsfeldt, while Tanvi Sharma bowed out after a 10-21 19-21 loss to Thailand’s Pitchamon Opatniputh.
Tanya Hemanth exited after a 19-21 7-21 defeat to Chinese Taipei’s Huang Ching-Ping, while fifth seed Line Christophersen of Denmark beat Isharani Baruah 21-17, 14-21, 21-18 in another opening round match.
Mixed doubles pair of Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh lost 13-21 18-21 to Indonesia’s Bobby Setiabudi and Melati Daeva Oktavianti in the opening round, while sisters Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda were outclassed 7-21 6-21 by Japan’s second seeds and world No. 7 Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi in women’s doubles.
Indonesia’s Amri Syahnawi and Nita Violina Marwah beat India’s Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde 21-15, 20-22, 21-10 in another mixed doubles clash. PTI ATK BS BS
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