Mithun Manjunath and Ashmita Chaliha registered impressive victories over their formidable rivals on the second day of the Singapore Open Super 500 tournament on Wednesday.
Mithun beat compatriot and World Championships silver medalist Kidambi Srikanth 21-17, 15-21, 21-18 in men’s singles, while Ashmita beat world number 12 Busanan Ongbamrungphan of Thailand in women’s singles 21- 16, beat 21-11.
World No. 77 Mithun, a product of Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, will next face Nhat Nguyen of Ireland, while Ashmita will face China’s Han Yu. It was also a good day at the office for two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu and in-form HS Prannoy as both of them also entered the second round with easy wins.
Sindhu looked in complete control to beat world number 36 Lian Tan of Belgium 21-15, 21-11 to clash with Thu Linh Nguyen of Vietnam.
Prannoy, who reached the semi-finals of Malaysia Masters last week, defeated Thailand’s Sithikom Thammasin 21-13, 21-16 and will now face third seed Chow Tien Chen, whom he defeated in the recent Malaysia Open.
London Olympics bronze medalist Saina Nehwal also avenged her India Open loss to compatriot Malvika Bansod 21-18, 21-14 to reach the second round.
Manjunath, who reached the final of the Orleans Masters Super 100 in April this year, continued to dominate the opening game after taking an early 6-2 lead. He kept Srikanth at bay to seal the opening game comfortably.
Srikanth, however, turned the tables after a change of ends, as he enjoyed a 11-8 lead at the break and continued to extend his lead to return to the competition.
The decider turned into a roller-coaster ride with both making it out, but it was Manjunath who showed better control as he ensured a one-point advantage each in breathlessness.
Srikanth managed to take a 16-15 lead at one point, but Manjunath didn’t let the opportunity pass by, losing the last three points 18-18 to secure the biggest win of his nascent international career.
The 24-year-old Manjunath had been doing just fine since reaching his maiden Super-100 final at the Orléans Masters in France last April. He had won four All India Ranking titles including the Senior Ranking Badminton tournament in December last year.
Earlier in the year, he contracted COVID-19 and had to withdraw from the India Open Super 500 in January. However, he made it to the Indian team for the Badminton Asia Team Championships in Malaysia after the semi-finals at the Syed Modi International and the quarter-finals in the Odisha Super 100.
World No. 66 Ashmita also performed brilliantly and after going down 5-10 to take an eight-point lead, she gained bragging rights.
The 22-year-old from Assam kept the momentum going in the second game as well, taking an early lead of 7-2. Busanan reduced it to 6-7, but the Indian scored nine consecutive points to once again slam the door on his opponent.
Earlier, Sindhu took time to break out of the block after trailing 1-4, but she pulled back 7-7 to never look back. After an 11-8 lead in the mid-game interval, she continued to pocket the opening game.
She continued the momentum with a 5-1 lead in the second game. A three-point burst helped Tan cut the lead, but a relentless Sindhu stepped up her game to seal the issue without much ado.
Pooja Dandu and Aarti Sara Sunil advanced to the second round of women’s doubles after Chinese Taipei pair of Hu Ling Feng and Lin Xiao Min pulled out of the tournament.
(PTI Input)