Badminton
Macau Open 2024: Kidambi Srikanth advances to pre-quarterfinals
In his first competitive badminton match since May, Srikanth took down the Israeli shuttler in straight games.
Kidambi Srikanth in action in round of 32 of India Open 2024 (FILE PHOTO: BAI)
Former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth started off his Macau Open campaign with a straight-game win over Daniil Dubovenko of Israel in the first round at the Macau East Asian Games Dome, on Wednesday.
Playing in his first competitive match since suffering an injury in May, Srikanth, now ranked 38th, made light work of Dubovenko, winning the match by a margin of 21-14, 21-15.
The sixth-seed Indian shuttler had his nose in front right from the get-go, racing to an 11-5 lead in game one, before closing the game with a crafty winner.
The second game saw Srikanth continue to assert his domination and won the contest in 35 minutes
He will face fellow Indian shuttler Ayush Shetty on Thursday in the round of 16. Ayush advanced to the round of 16, defeating compatriot Alap Mishra 21-13, 21-5 in the round of 32.
In the women's singles clash, Tasnim Mir is the only Indian player to advance to the next round, defeating Indian shuttler Devika Shirag 15-21, 21-18, 22-20.
India's mixed doubles pairing Sumeet Reddy and Sikki Reddy also advanced to the round of 16 by defeating Loo Bing Kun and Ho Lo Ee 24-22, 10-21, 21-13.
Indians exit
Apart from Srikanth, India has had a poor day at the Macau Open, with a large number of shuttlers making an early-round exit.
Chirag Sen lost to Hong Kong's Ng Ka Long Angus 12-21, 17-21, and exited the tournament.
Sameer Verma dealt with the same fate as Chirag Sen, losing his round of 32 clash to Chinese shuttler Wang Zheng Xing 21-18, 11-21, 13-21.
Mithun Manjunath went down to Yu Kai Huang of Chinese Taipei 12-21, 15-21.
In the women's singles discipline, Isharani Baruah lost to Wu Luo of China 7-21, 15-21.
Anupama Upadhyaya, however, lost to Japanese Riko Gunji 12-21, 22-20, 7-21. Tanya Hemanth also exited the tournament by losing her round of 32 clash to Chinese Taipei's Liang Ting Yu 18-21, 19-21.
The other mixed doubles pair of Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani lost to Thai duo Ruttanapak Oupthong and Jhenicha Sudjaipraparat in a closely fought encounter, losing 21-23, 22-24.
