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Tuesday marked the beginning of the 2023 Hong Kong Open, a BWF Super 500 tournament. There were quite a few Indians on the court today, and fans were waiting with fingers crossed for a better performance than last week's China Open.
Kicking things off was men's singles player Mithun Manjunath. Manjunath, who is in the squad for the upcoming Asian Games, lost 22-20, 21-25 against home player Jason Gunawan. This was the qualification round of 16, and nobody expected Manjunath to go down so early.
Up next, Indians Ravi and Shashwat Dalal battled each other for a spot in the qualification quarter-finals. Ravi got the better of Shashwat 21-15, 21-12, only to go down against Jason Gunawan in the quarters 21-15, 21-14.
Kiran George, who recently won the Indonesian Masters, won his qualification round of 16 against Taiwanese player Chi Yu Jen. However, George wasn't able to keep the winning streak going and lost out to Malaysian Leong Jun Hao in his next match.
Rounding up the day for men's singles at the Hong Kong Open was Sankar Muthusmay who went down fighting against Finn Kalle Koljonen 21-19, 13-21, 18-21.
The first Indian doubles pair at the Hong Kong Open was Nikki and Nishu Rapria. The duo lost to Chinese Taipei's Hu Ling Fang and Lin Xiao Min 21-6, 21-1.
Following Nikki and Nishu, were Sumeeth Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa. The mixed doubles pair sealed their spot in the main draw with a 21-14, 21-15 win over Alvin Morada and Alyssa Ysabel Leonardo.
Ashwini also made it to the women's doubles main draw with partner Tanisha Crasto, beating compatriots Sikki Reddy and Arathi Sunil on the way.
Women's singles player Malvika Bansod, who is also in the team for the Asian Games, also made it to the main draw, getting the better of Thai player Pitchamon Opatniputh.
The last Indians on the court at the Hong Kong Open were Treesa Jolly and Gayathri Gopichand. The duo won their first round of the main draw 21-15, 16-21, 21-16 against Debora Jille and Seinen.
Hong Kong Open 2023: Results at the end of Day 1 (Indians Only)
Men's Singles
Qualification round of 16
Jason Gunawan (Hong Kong) beat Mithun Manjunath (India) 22-20 21-15
Ravi (India) beat Shashwat Dalal (India) 21-15, 21-12
Kiran George (India) beat Chi Yu Jen (Chinese Taipei) 21-15, 21-17
Kalle Koljonen (Finland) beat Sankar Muthusamy 19-21, 21-13, 21-19
Men's Singles
Qualification quarter-finals
Jason Gunawan (Hong Kong) beat Ravi (India) 21-15, 21-14
Leong Jun Hao (Malaysia) beat Kiran George (India) 22-20, 14-21, 21-14
Women's Doubles
Qualification quarter-finals
Fang/Min (Chinese Taipei) beat Rapria/Rapria (India) 21-6, 21-1
Ponnappa/Crasto (India) beat Reddy/Sunil (India) 21-16 21-14
Main Draw round of 32
Jolly/Gopichand (India) beat Jille/Seinen (Netherlands) 21-15, 16-21, 21-16
Mixed Doubles
Qualification quarter-finals
Ponnappa/Reddy (India) beat Morada/Leonardo (Philippines) 21-15, 21-14
Women's Singles
Qualification quarter-finals
Malvika Bansod (India) beat Pitchamon Opatniputh (Thailand) 21-14, 11-10* (*retired)
That is how India fared on day one of the Hong Kong Open. There will be a total of eight Indians in action at Kowloon tomorrow (September 13).
