Manjunath secures upset win in Australian Open; Sindhu, Srikanth, Prannoy enter second round | Badminton News

NEW DELHI: Unheralded Indian player Mithun Manjunath pulled off a stunning victory against fourth seed and world number seven, Kean Yew Loh from Singapore in a remarkable upset at the Australian Open badminton tournament in Sydney on Wednesday.

Despite being ranked 50th in the world, Manjunath displayed exceptional skill and determination, defeating Loh in a gripping men’s singles first-round match that lasted 41 minutes, with scores of 21-19, 21-19.

Meanwhile, India’s top-ranked players, PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth, also showcased their dominance in the opening round. Fifth seed Sindhu, who has faced early exits in several tour events this season, demonstrated her prowess by securing a convincing straight-game win against compatriot Ashmita Chaliha, with scores of 21-18, 21-13 in just 36 minutes. Sindhu is now under the guidance of a new personal coach, Malaysia’s Muhammad Hafiz Hashim.
In other men’s singles opening round matches, Srikanth, currently ranked 19th in the world, put on a commanding performance to defeat Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto with scores of 21-18, 21-7. On the other hand, sixth seed HS Prannoy faced a tough challenge against Cheuk Yiu Lee from Hong Kong but managed to emerge victorious after a hard-fought battle, with scores of 21-18, 16-21, 21-15.

Manjunath faces the winner of the match between Lee Zii Jia and Leong Jun Hao — both Malaysians — in the second round of the BWF Super 500 tournament.
Meanwhile, Lakshya Sen conceded his men’s singles match against compatriot Kiran George due to an injury. Sen was trailing 0-5 in the opening game when he decided to quit.
Rising shuttler Priyanshu Rajawat also tasted success as he beat Australia’s Nathan Tang 21-12, 21-16.
Among other Indians in the fray on Wednesday, Aakarshi Kashyap beat Malaysia’s Jin Wei Goh 21-15, 21-17, but it was curtains for Malvika Bansod as she lost 20-22, 11-21 against Yu Po Pai of Chinese Taipei.

Only one Indian will survive after the second round in the women’s singles as Sindhu and Kashyap are pitted against each other.
The Indian mixed doubles pair of Rohan Kapoor and Sikki Reddy made first round exit after losing 14-21 18-21 to world No.5 and third seeded Korean pair of Seung Jae Seo and Yu Jung Chae.
In the men’s singles second round, Prannoy will take on Yu Jen Chi of Chinese Taipei, while Rajawat and Srikanth will be up against opponents from Taipei in Tzu Wei Wang and Li Yang Su respectively.
The tournament is the last event before the World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The BWF World Tour is divided into six levels, namely World Tour Finals, four Super 1000, six Super 750, seven Super 500, and 11 Super 300.
One other category of the tournament, the BWF Tour Super 100 level, also offers ranking points.
(With PTI Inputs)