Defending champion and former world No. 1 Saina Nehwal has been knocked out of the BWF India Open. The 31-year-old, Saina was defeated in straight games as she was no match to her fellow Indian shuttler Malvika Bansod who took only 34 minutes to get the better of Saina with a scoreline of 21-17, 21-9.
In other news, two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy Roy have also advanced to advance into the next rounds beating their respective opponents.
Initial resistance
Saina did show up some fight in the first game as she matched Malvika's intensity but lost the first game 21-17 in a tight battle. However, things went bizarre for the 2012 London Olympics Bronze medalist as she was well beaten in the second game by 21-9. It took just over half an hour to wrap up the tie.
Earlier, Saina was given a walkover by Czech Republic's Tereza Svabikova when the score was 22-20, 1-0 in Saina's favour on Wednesday (January 12).
Malvika, in the meanwhile, will face Aakarshi Kashyap in the quarter-finals. She got the better of fellow Indian Keyura Mopatin in a three-game thriller with a score of 15-21, 21-19, 21-8. She had to pull all the stocks to come from one game down to secure her tickets for the last eight. The draw still contains four Indian players and India will have a good chance of retaining the crown in the women's department.
Sindhu's easy victory
Top-seeded PV Sindhu had an easy passage in the final eight as she dominated Ira Sharma 21-10, 21-10. The win now sees her go one step closer to winning the championship.
Just like, other sports, the Covid-19 pandemic has taken its toll on the current tournament as several players including Kidambi Srikanth, doubles player Ashwini Ponnappa, Ritika Rahul Thkar, Treesa Jolly, Simran Aman Singh and Khushi Gupta all tested positive for the ghastly virus. This invariably led to several walkovers in the competition.
In the men's department, Prannoy received a walkover as his opponent Mithun Manjunath was contracted with Covid-19. He will now face the winner of Sweden's Felix Burstedt and third-seeded Lakshya Sen. The Indian pair could provide a thriller if Lakshya manages to outclass his opponent in the second round.
