India’s Malvika Bansod and Ashmita Chaliha emerged as the lone bright spots on an otherwise disappointing day for the country at the Malaysia Masters Super 500 here, advancing to the second round with contrasting wins in women’s singles.
Malvika, who is on a comeback trail after recovering from an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury that required surgery, fought back strongly to beat Germany’s World No. 52 Yvonne Li 21-17 16-21 21-9, while Ashmita registered a comfortable 21-16 21-13 victory over Indonesia’s World No. 56 Thalita Ramadhani Wiryawan. Malvika will face Denmark's eighth seed Line Højmark Kjaersfeldt, while Ashmita takes on Malaysia's Goh Jin Wei next.
However, India also suffered a string of early exits across categories. In men’s singles, eighth seed Lakshya Sen, the brightest Indian prospect, crashed out after a shock 17-21 11-21 defeat to Indonesia’s world No. 38 Moh. Zaki Ubaidillah.
HS Prannoy, the 2023 Asian games and World Championships bronze winner, too bowed out after a marathon battle against Japan's sixth seed Kodai Naraoka, losing 17-21 22-20 22-24 in an 80-minute contest.
Kiran George retired while trailing 15-21 1-6 against France's seventh seed Alex Lanier. India’s Tharun Mannepalli squandered a one-game advantage to lose 21-17 14-21 8-21 to Chinese Taipei's Wang Po-Wei.
In women's singles, Anmol Kharb fought hard before going down 21-13 16-21 19-21 to Denmark's eighth seed Line Christophersen Kjærsfeldt. India's mixed doubles pair of Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh lost 13-21 18-21 to Indonesia's Bobby Setiabudi and Melati Daeva Oktavianti in the opening round.
In women's doubles, sisters Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda were outclassed 7-21 6-21 by Japan's second seeds and World No. 7 Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi.
Also read: India seek to settle scores against France at Malaysia Masters
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