Badminton
German Open: Unnati Hooda advances to quarterfinals; Mixed day for Indian contingent
Unnati Hooda advances to the German Open quarterfinals with a dominant win, while other Indian shuttlers face mixed results in men's and women's singles, doubles, and mixed doubles.
Unnati Hooda advances to the German Open quarterfinals (File photo)
Unnati Hooda produced a stellar performance to advance to the quarterfinals of the German Open, defeating Japan’s A. Takahashi in straight games (21-13, 21-19), on Thursday.
The young Indian shuttler displayed excellent control and composure to secure a crucial victory and keep India’s hopes alive in the tournament.
Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila also secured a convincing straight-game victory in the mixed doubles Round of 16 at the German Open. The Indian duo dominated Germany’s J.R. Jansen and T.P. Nguyen, winning 21-10, 21-19 to advance to the quarterfinals.
In women’s singles, R. Ramraj also emerged victorious, overcoming Hong Kong’s S.Y.H. Lo 21-17, 21-11. Meanwhile, Tasnim Mir battled through a tough contest against Chinese Taipei's Ciou Tung to qualify for the next round. Aakarshi Kashyap, however, was unable to progress, suffering a 14-21, 17-21 loss to Vietnam’s T.L. Nguyen.
In men’s singles, India had a mixed outing. Tharun Mannepalli fought hard to defeat Canada’s B. Yang in a gripping three-setter (21-14, 15-21, 21-17). However, Kiran George and Priyanshu Rajawat both crashed out, with George losing to China’s Z. Wang (18-21, 13-21) and Rajawat falling to France’s T. Popov in a dramatic three-game match (21-16, 18-21, 4-21).
The doubles category, however, brought disappointment for India. The mixed doubles duo of Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh faced a tough challenge against Indonesia’s J. Hidayatullah and Felisha Alberta Pasaribu, ultimately losing 10-21, 17-21.
Other Indian doubles pairs, including Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy and Sai Pratheek K. in men’s doubles, as well as Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra in women’s doubles, will be in action later tonight.
With Hooda’s commanding performance leading the charge, Indian shuttlers will now look to make a deeper impact in the tournament. The upcoming quarterfinals will be a crucial test, and all eyes will be on Hooda and the remaining Indian contenders as they fight for glory.
