Lakshya bows out of Thailand Open; Malvika, Aakarshi, Unnati advance
The Hindu
Top Indian shuttlers shine at Thailand Open with wins and losses, setting up exciting matchups in the next round.
Star Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen suffered a shock defeat but the trio of Malvika Bansod, Aakarshi Kashyap and Unnati Hooda advanced to the women's singles second round after hard-fought victories in the $475,000 Thailand Open Super 500 tournament here on Wednesday.
World No. 10 pair of Tressa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, currently the best-ranked Indians in the world, also made a positive start to their campaign, reaching the second round with a 21-15 21-13 win over Malaysia's Ong XY and C Ting.
The third-seeded Indian combination, which is returning after missing the Sudirman Cup mixed team championships due to injuries, will next square off against Japan's Rui Hirokami and Sayaka Hobara.
Sen, a 2021 World Championships bronze medallist, fell to Ireland's Nhat Nguyen in a tense three-game battle, losing 18-21 21-9 17-21 in a men's singles match that lasted one hour and 20 minutes.
After dropping the first game, Sen found his rhythm in the second, dominating with aggressive rallies. However, Nguyen held his nerve in a close-decider, edging ahead at 17-13 before sealing the win.
World No. 33 Priyanshu Rajawat too made a first-round exit as he went down 13-21 21-17 16-21 against Alwi Farhan of Indonesia.
In women's singles, world No. 23 Malvika, a runner-up at the 2024 Hylo Open, ousted Turkey's Neslihan Arin 21-12 13-21 21-17 to set up a clash with former world champion Ratchanok Intanon, seeded seventh.
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