In a day marked by contrasting fortunes for Indian badminton players at the
Tanvi Sharma Shines in Women's Singles
Third-seeded Tanvi Sharma, fresh off her first BWF World Tour title, continued her winning streak by defeating China's Yuan An Qi with a score of 21-16, 21-15, securing her place in the second round. The Indian contingent saw further success as Rakshitha Ramraj staged a comeback against Korea's Yoo A Yeon, winning 22-24, 21-12, 21-13. Mansi Singh also displayed resilience, overcoming Kim Joo Eun with a final score of 14-21, 21-19, 21-9.
Fifth seed Isharani Baruah advanced after a closely contested match against Korea's Lee So Yul, finishing 21-18, 15-21, 21-7. Eighth seed Anmol Kharb rallied from a game down to defeat Hong Kong's Lo Sin Yan Happy, winning 16-21, 21-17, 21-12. Ashmita Chaliha and Shriyanshi Valishetty also progressed, with Chaliha defeating Japan's Riko Hiramoto 22-20, 21-18, and Valishetty overcoming Chinese Taipei's Pai Yu Po 21-15, 21-14.
However, not all Indian players fared well; Tanya Hemanth lost to top seed Hina Akechi of Japan, 16-21, 20-22, while Aakarshi Kashyap was defeated by Korea's Kim Min Ji, 22-20, 21-23, 3-21.
Challenges for Indian Men's Singles
In stark contrast, the men's singles saw a disappointing performance, particularly from third seed Kidambi Srikanth, who was eliminated in a tough match against Israel's Daniil Dubovenko, losing 20-22, 21-14, 12-21. This defeat was part of a broader struggle for the Indian men's contingent, with Kiran George, Mithun Manjunath, Tharun Mannepalli, and Rounak Chouhan all exiting in the first round.
Kiran George fell to Korea's Park Sang Yong with a score of 15-21, 9-21, while Mithun Manjunath was defeated by China's Zhu Xuan Chen, 11-21, 9-21. Mannepalli fought valiantly but lost 13-21, 21-12, 19-21 to Korea's Yoo Tae Bin, and Rounak Chouhan lost a close match to fourth seed Jeon Hyeok Jin, 21-23, 19-21. Saneeth Dayanand was forced to retire while trailing against top seed Yudai Okimoto of Japan.
Mixed Results in Doubles Events
In the doubles events, the sixth-seeded mixed pair of Ishaan Bhatnagar and Shruti Mishra triumphed in an all-Indian clash against Sathwik Reddy Kanapuram and Radhika Sharma, winning 20-22, 21-10, 21-15. In women's doubles, Sonali Singh and Ritika Thaker came back from a game down to defeat Korea's Bang Ji Sun and Hyun Ji Jang, 13-21, 21-15, 21-12.
However, the day was marred by further disappointments for Indian doubles teams. The seventh-seeded mixed duo of Dhruv Rawat and Maneesha K lost 21-18, 14-21, 17-21 to Malaysia's Loo Bing Kun and Nurul Maisarah Mohamad Zamani, while the men's doubles pair of Bhargav Ram Arigela and Viswa Tej Gobburu succumbed to Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Aaron Tai, 17-21, 15-21.
