India’s badminton contingent at the Taipei Open witnessed mixed fortunes on Wednesday. While men’s singles players showcased strong performances, advancing to the quarterfinals, the women’s singles players faced a wave of disappointment.
Sathish Kumar Karunakaran battled hard to overcome Kantaphon Wangcharoen from Thailand, securing a 24-22, 23-21 victory to book his spot in the quarterfinals. Sankar Subramanian, too, displayed resilience, edging out his Finnish opponent Joakim Oldorff in a close contest, winning 21-12, 19-21, 21-11.
In another men’s singles round of 16 match, Kiran George, although winning the first set against Indonesia’s Yohanes Saut Marcellyno, lost the subsequent two sets, resulting in a 15-21, 21-8, 21-16 defeat.
The Indian women’s singles players, however, faced a challenging day. Aakarshi Kashyap fell to Thailand’s Pornpicha Choeikeewong in straight sets, 19-21, 18-21. World No. 3 Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei overpowered Taniya Hemanth in a dominant performance, winning 21-11, 21-10 in just 27 minutes. Anupama Upadhyaya, despite winning the first set against Lauren Lam, ultimately lost the match, 17-21, 21-19, 21-11.
The Indian women’s doubles pair of Rituparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda will be looking to turn the tide in their quarterfinal clash against Hong Kong’s Lok Lok Lui and Hiu Yan Tsang. Rakshitha Ramaraj will also be aiming to make her mark in the women’s singles quarterfinals against Japan’s Asuka Takahashi.
