Changzhou. India’s Malvika Bansod performed brilliantly and defeated Paris Olympics bronze medalist Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in straight games in the first round of the women’s singles of the China Open Super 100 badminton tournament here on Wednesday. The world number 43 player saved three game points in the first game and registered the biggest win of her career by defeating world number seven Tunjung of Indonesia 26-24 21-19 in 46 minutes. She is the only Indian left in this tournament. 22-year-old Malvika will face two-time Commonwealth Games medalist Christie Gilmore in the next round.
However, in women’s singles, other Indian players Aakarshi Kashyap and Samia Imad Farooqui had to face defeat. Aakarshi lost 15-21 19-21 against Chiu Pin Chian of Chinese Taipei, while Samia was eliminated from the competition after losing 9-21 7-21 against Christie in a one-sided match.
In women’s doubles, Trisha Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand lost to Chinese Taipei pair of Shih Pei Shen and Hung En Ju 21-16 15-21 17-21 in a close three-game match. Rutuparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda also lost in a close match 11-21 21-16 11-21.
In mixed doubles, the pair of B Sumeeth Reddy and N Sikki Reddy also lost in the first round against the Malaysian pair of Tan Kian Meng and Lai Pei Jing 10-21 16-21 while Satish Kumar Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath lost 14-21 11-21 against the Malaysian pair of Chen Teng Jee and Toh Ee Wei. In men’s singles, Kiran George lost 21-4 10-21 21-23 against Kenta Nishimoto of Japan despite winning the first game. Left-handed player Malvika from Nagpur entered the senior international circuit in 2019 and won the Maldives International title. She was the runner-up at the Syed Modi International in 2022.
Malvika has been in good form this year. She won the Azerbaijan International title. She made headlines in 2022 when she defeated 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal at the India Open to break into the world’s top 30. However, her progress was hampered by health issues after she suffered from dengue and typhoid after participating in the Hangzhou Asian Games last year. She has, however, managed to maintain her position among the world’s top 50 players. Her mother Trupti told PTI, “This is her biggest victory and she is extremely happy. She is performing well but she lacks experience and sometimes luck has also not favoured her.”