Odisha Open badminton: Malvika Bansod, Ashmita Chaliha advance to the quarter-finals
Malvika Bansod defeated junior world No. 1 Tasnim Mir in straight games while Ashmita Chaliha overcame Anupama Upadhyaya.
Indian badminton player Malvika Bansod continued her good run and progressed to the quarter-finals of the women’s singles at the Odisha Open 2022 on Thursday.
Malvika Bansod, who lost to PV Sindhu in the Syed Modi International final last week, eased past the junior world No. 1 Tasnim Mir 21-13, 21-15 in 33 minutes.
The 20-year-old Malvika Bansod from Nagpur will next face 18-year-old Tanya Hemanth on Friday.
Ashmita Chaliha, another pre-tournament favourite, also sailed into the quarter-finals after defeating Anupama Upadhyaya 21-17, 21-16 in her round of 16 clash.
Malvika Bansod and Ashmita Chaliha, with world rankings of 67 and 69, respectively, are the top-rated Indian women at the Super 100 event in the absence of Olympic medallists PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal.
In the men’s singles, third seed Subhankar Dey beat Rahul Yadav Chittaboina 21-16, 21-14. He will be facing Kiran George, who defeated Chirag Sen - the elder brother of world championships bronze winner Lakshya Sen - 21-12, 21-13, in the quarter-finals.
Another Indian contender in men’s singles, Mithun Manjunath, also advanced with a 21-11, 21-18 win over Malaysian seventh seed Cheam June Wei. Manjunath is set to face a stiff challenge against the winner of last year’s Ukraine International Priyanshu Rajawat on Friday.
In the mixed doubles, MR Arjun and Treesa Jolly progressed to the quarters with a straightforward 21-18, 21-5 victory over Raju Mohamed Rehan and Jamaludeen Anees Kowsar. The winning pair will face Nazeer Khan Abu Bakkar and Nila Valluvan in the next match.