Taipei: Indian shuttlers put on a promising display at the Taipei Open Super 300 Badminton Tournament, with former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth and several emerging talents advancing to the second round on Wednesday.
Srikanth, currently ranked World No. 61 and looking to reclaim his form, opened his campaign with a comfortable straight-game victory over compatriot Sankar Subramanian, a silver medallist at the 2022 World Junior Championships. The 32-year-old ace won 21-16, 21-15 to book a second-round clash with rising Indian star Ayush Shetty.
Shetty, a bronze medallist at the 2023 World Junior Championships and a semifinalist at the Orleans Masters, pulled off a significant upset by defeating third seed Lee Chia Hao of Chinese Taipei 21-17, 21-18 in a tightly contested 50-minute match.
Meanwhile, Tharun Mannepalli, the 2023 National Games gold-medallist, showed tremendous grit in his first-round encounter. He edged past Japan’s Shogo Ogawa 21-17, 19-21, 21-12 in a 70-minute thriller. Mannepalli will now face Indonesia’s Moh. Zaki Ubaidillah in the next round.
However, Meiraba Luwang Maisnam fell short against Canada’s Brian Yang, losing 21-23, 12-21 in straight games despite a close opening set.
In women’s singles, Unnati Hooda impressed with a composed performance, defeating fellow Indian Anupama Upadhyaya 21-13, 21-17. Hooda, who has already claimed Super 100 titles at the 2022 Odisha Masters and 2023 Abu Dhabi Masters, will now face Taipei’s Lin Sih Yun in the next round.
Aakarshi Kashyap couldn’t progress, suffering a one-sided 9-21, 12-21 defeat to Hung Yi-Ting of Chinese Taipei.
India’s campaign continues later in the day with Anmol Kharb and Rakshitha Sree Santhosh Ramraj scheduled to take the court in their respective matches.
