Australian Open: Prannoy, Aakarshi, Kiran shine, Abhishek bows out

HS Prannoy, Aakarshi Kashyap, Anupama Upadhyaya, and Malvika Bansod advanced to the second round of the Australian Open whereas Abhisek Yeligar exited the tournament in Sydney, Australia, on Wednesday.

HS Prannoy, India's leading men's singles player, dominated his match against Ygor Coelho of Brazil. Prannoy controlled the first game with a convincing 21-10 win. The second set was a nail-biter, with Prannoy edging past Coelho 23-21 to secure his place in the Round of 16.

Similarly, India's top women's singles player Aakarshi Kashyap cruised past Polina Buhrova of Ukraine in straight games (21-14, 21-11) and will now face Kai Qi (Bernice) Teoh of Australia for a spot in the quarter-finals.

In the men's singles category, Abhishek Yeligar, who had a strong qualifying run, couldn't overcome Misha Zilberman of Israel. Zilberman dominated the match, winning 21-9, 21-15.

However, Sameer Verma defeated Ricky Tang of Australia 21-10, 21-10. Verma will now face the former World Champion Loh Kean Yew in the round of 16.

Anupama, Malvika, Sumeeth-Sikki advance

Anupama Upadhyaya had a thrilling encounter against Wong Ling Ching of Malaysia. Upadhyaya prevailed in a close second game (23-21) after winning the first 21-14. She will now face sixth-seeded Putri Kusuma Wardani for a chance to reach the quarter-finals.

Malvika Bansod also secured a win, defeating her Indian counterpart Keyura Mopati, 21-10, 21-8. Bansod will be facing the winner between Yu-Hsun Huang and seventh-seeded Ester Nurumi Tri Wardoyo in the next round.

Indian badminton's power couple, Sumeeth Reddy and Sikki Reddy, defeated, Tien Ci Wong and Chiew Sien Lim of Malaysia 21-17, 21-19 to book their place in the round of 16.

Unfortunately, Ayush Raj Gupta and Sruti Swain couldn't overcome the Australian pair of Jordan Yang and Sydney Tjonadi in the mixed doubles category.

Thrilling matches

Kiran George managed to defeat Kiaodong Sheng of Canada in straight games (21-17, 21-11). His second round will be up against the 7th-seeded Kenta Nishimoto for a spot in the quarter-finals.

Imad Farooqui Samiya surprised everyone by grabbing the first game against the 3rd-seeded Pai Yu Po (21-23). However, Pai Yu Po managed to regain control and secure the match in three sets (21-13, 24-22).

Similarly, S Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian gave a tough fight to the top-seeded, former World Number 2, Lee Zii Jia by clinching the second set (18-21) but ultimately fell short in the third (21-10). The final score read 21-16,18-21, 21-10.

It was a tough start for the Indian doubles pair Tarun Kona & Sri Krishna Priya Kudaravalli who lost in straight sets against Pang Ron Hoo & Su Yin Cheng of Malaysia (6-21, 11-21).

Mithun Manjunath fought a close match, but couldn't convert his chances and lost against Alwi Farhan of Indonesia ( 17-21, 17,21).

6th-seeded Chou Tien Chen showed a dominant performance by beating Raghu Mariswamy (6-21, 8-21).

Similarly, Chun-Yi Lin displayed strong control throughout the match, giving Ravi little room to maneuver, winning 6-21,13-21.

Looking ahead to the Round of 16

Despite some disappointing finishes, India still manages a strong presence in the tournament with seven shuttlers advancing to the Round of 16.

With notable names like HS Prannoy, Kiran George, and Aakarshi Kashyap, fans can expect high-voltage action when the Round of 16 commences tomorrow on BWF's official YouTube channel.