Taipei Open badminton: Ishaan Bhatnagar-Tanisha Crasto in second round; Saina Nehwal pulls out
This is the first time since May that the Indian mixed doubles pair has gone past the opening round.
India’s mixed doubles pair of Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto sailed into the second round of the Taipei Open 2022 being held at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium, on Tuesday.
The Indian duo, 47th in the badminton world rankings, were formidable in their 21-15, 21-8 win over world No. 95 Israeli pair of Misha Zilberman and Svetlana Zilberman.
Both teams were quick to get off the blocks and were tied at 7-7 after early exchanges. The Indian badminton pair, however, upped their intensity to take a 1-0 lead.
Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto, seeded sixth, rode the momentum in the second game to seal the match in just 26 minutes. They will take on one of the two unseeded local pairs in the second round of the BWF Super 300 badminton tournament.
Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto had made a promising start to the year by winning the Syed Modi International BWF Super 300 title in January. However, this is the first time since May that they have gone past the first round.
The other two Indian badminton players competing on the day lost their matches in the qualifying round.
In the men’s singles, Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian fought hard but lost to Liao Jhuo Fu of Chinese Taipei 21-17, 21-23, 21-17 in a match that lasted one hour and two minutes.
In the women’s singles, Keyura Mopati lost to Indonesia’s Komang Ayu Cahya Dewi 21-13, 21-14 in 33 minutes.
London 2012 bronze medallist Saina Nehwal, seeded fourth in the women’s singles, withdrew from the tournament at the eleventh hour. Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu is also not competing.
Saina Nehwal’s husband Parupalli Kashyap, seeded third in the men’s singles, will play his first-round match on Wednesday.