It was a day of contrasting fortunes for the Indian contingent at the Australian Open Super 500 badminton tournament on Wednesday. The women’s singles players delivered a commanding performance, with a host of stars advancing to the round of 16. Conversely, the men’s side faced a challenging outing as Kiran George, Tharun Mannepalli, and qualifier Saneeth Dayanand all exited the competition in the opening round.
India's women shuttlers march into Round of 32 in Australian Open
Leading the charge for the women was two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, who looked in peak form during her 32-minute opener. The third seed dominated Peru's Ines Lucia Castillo Salazar with a clinical 21-13, 21-11 victory, never allowing her opponent to find a rhythm. Sindhu is now set for an all-Indian clash in the next round against Isharani Baruah, who secured her spot after a gritty three-game battle against China's Han Qian Xi, winning 22-20, 10-21, 21-14.
The standout performance of the day belonged to 17-year-old Tanvi Sharma, who pulled off a significant upset. The teenager stunned the fifth seed and world No. 11, Chiu Pin-Chian of Chinese Taipei, with a composed 21-12, 22-20 win. Tanvi will now face fellow Indian Malvika Bansod in the next stage; Malvika earned her place in the round of 16 after a strong comeback victory, recovering from a game down to defeat Thailand's Tonrug Saeheng 15-21, 21-7, 21-13.
Rounding out the successful day for the Indian women, Tanya Hemanth also progressed by overcoming USA’s Ishika Jaiswal in straight games, 21-17, 21-18.
Disappointing day for Indian men's singles shuttlers
Meanwhile, it was a challenging day for the Indian men's singles players at the Australian Open, as the contingent faced a series of exits. Kiran George put up a brave fight against Malaysia's Justin Hoh but ultimately fell in a grueling one-hour and two-minute encounter, losing 19-21, 21-14, 15-21. Meanwhile, qualifier Saneeth Dayanand struggled to find his footing against China's Hu Zhe'an, exiting the tournament after a 35-minute loss with scores of 8-21, 10-21.
Tharun Mannepalli came agonizingly close to producing the upset of the day against the second-seeded world No. 10, Lin Chun-Yi of Chinese Taipei. In a thrilling battle that spanned one hour and 20 minutes, Tharun took the first game and even held match points in a tense decider. However, Lin displayed nerves of steel in the final moments to narrowly escape with a 21-18, 13-21, 23-25 victory.
The mixed doubles results offered a mixed bag for India. Dhruv Rawat and Maneesha K cruised into the second round with a clinical 21-13, 21-14 win over local pair Lim Jayden and Victoria Tjonadi in just 27 minutes. Unfortunately, the day ended on a difficult note for Mohit Jaglan and Lakshita Jaglan, who were unable to challenge the second-seeded Chinese duo of Guo Xin Wa and Chen Fang Hui, falling in a quick 20-minute match with scores of 6-21, 5-21.