In a masterful display, Kartikeya Gulshan Kumar of India defeated Denmark’s fifth-seeded player Mads Christophersen in straight games on Thursday to advance to the men’s singles quarterfinals of the Guwahati Masters Super 100 badminton competition.
Achutaditya Rao and Venkata Harsha Vardhan, the Indian men’s doubles team, then demonstrated their might by defeating Wei Chun Wei and Wu Guan Xun of Chinese Taipei, the fourth-seeded team, 24-22, 23-21.
After saving two match points in the second game, third seeds Pharanyu Kaosamaang and Worrapol Thongsa-Nga were defeated 16-21, 22-20, 21-16 by Hariharan Amsakarunan and Ruban Kumar.
Malvika Bansod also advanced to the last eight stage, defeating fellow countrywoman Tanya Hemanth 21-13, 21-17.
The 23-year-old’s explicit strategy was to deny his opponent, who is rated 82 spots higher than him, the chance to strike at the Sarusajai stadium.
The lead changed many times throughout the tight first game before Kartikeya scored three straight points to cut the deficit from 12 to 15 to 17 to 15. Although Christophersen was able to tie the score at 17–17, the Indian shuttler from Delhi subsequently launched an onslaught to win the match.
In the second game, Kartikeya was far more in control of the match; he prevented his Danish opponent from taking the lead at any point and won 21–18, 21–15 in 36 minutes.
He will now take on Cheam June Wei of Malaysia, who won the second third-round match by defeating Subhankar Dey 21-15, 21-15.
Regarding their match, Kartikeya revealed he had prepared by studying Christophersen’s style of play. He said, “His lifts were not going long enough while I could carry out my plans flawlessly.”
The rising Unnati Hooda of China Taipei defeated third seed Sung Shou Yun in the women’s singles tournament, taking the opening set 21–15–21–19.
Aakarshi Kashyap, the fifth seed, and Samiya Imad Farooqi, the brilliant player, both bravely fought their way out of the pre-quarterfinals.
In a match lasting one hour and thirty-three minutes, Kashyap defeated Taipei’s Lin Sih Yun after saving four match points. Meanwhile, Samiya fell short against Taipei’s second seed, Wen Chi Hsu, 21-15, 18-21, and 21-13.
None of the other Indian players in the men’s singles division advanced to the quarterfinals; global junior bronze winner Ayush Shetty, seasoned Sameer Verma, and national champion Mithun Manjunath were eliminated in the round of 16.
Later in the day, Hooda and Palak Arora were defeated 21-13, 21-8 by second-seeded Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto in the women’s doubles match, advancing them into the quarterfinals.
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