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Indian doubles players fared well on the second day of the German Open BWF World Tour Super 300 tournament in Muelheim an der Ruhr, Germany, on Wednesday.
Contrary to the opening day when singles players ruled the roost, the Indian doubles pair saved the day for the country.
As many as three doubles combinations, including two in the men’s doubles, won their first-round encounters after none of the four singles players managed to win.
Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand Pullela rounded up a satisfactory day for the doubles by beating Debora Jille and Cheryl Seinen of the Netherlands 21-15, 21-12.
The young duo, ranked 57 in the world, took 37 minutes to move into the second round.
Treesa and Gayatri combined well and were in control of the proceedings from the beginning. World No. 65 Cheryl Seinen and Debora Jille had no answer to Treesa and Gayatri’s excellent all-round performance.
Treesa and Gayatri will have a much bigger task when they run into top seeds Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan of China in the second round.
Ishaan-Sai Pratheek and Krishna- Vishnuvardhan off to winning start
Ishaan Bhatnagar and K Sai Pratheek trounced Callum Hemming and Steven Stallwood of England 21-15, 21-16 in the men's first-round doubles. Ishaan and Sai Pratheek dominated the proceedings during their half-hour battle against the world No. 49 English pair.
It was the second successive win for world No. 91 Ishaan and Sai Pratheek against Hemming and Stallwood. At the Welsh International Badminton Championships in 2021, Ishaan and Sai Pratheek rallied back to shock the English duo in three games.
Krishna Prasad Garaga and Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala also put up a splendid performance to enter the second round.
World No. 50 Krishna Prasad and Vishnuvardhan combined well to oust the Japanese duo Hiroki Okamura and Masayuki Onodera 24-22, 21-11 in 40 minutes.
The world No. 57 Japanese pair fought hard in the first game but squandered a game point to lose the extended first game 22-24. The Indians completely dominated the second game to set up an all-India second-round clash against Ishaan and Sai Pratheek.
The third men's doubles pair proved unlucky in their first-round match. World No. 39 MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila gave the sixth-seeded pair a scare before losing in three tense games.
Arjun and Dhruv Kapila went down against Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi of Malaysia 13-21, 22-20, 19-21 in a marathon encounter that lasted 59 minutes. It was the third straight loss for the Indian pair against the world No. 11 Malaysians.
Experienced women's doubles pair Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy lost to fifth seeds Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida of Japan 13-21, 13-21 in 39 minutes.
Promoted Indian singles players Malvika Bansod and Aakarshi Kashyap go down
Nagpur shuttler Malvika Bansod went down fighting against Michelle Li of Canada in the women’s singles first round. The world No. 12 overcame a spirited challenge from Malvika to secure a hard-fought 21-18, 20-22, 21-9. win in 58 minutes.
20-year-old southpaw Malvika, who was promoted to the main draw from the reserve list at the last moment, gave her best. However, it was not enough against a higher-ranked opponent. After losing the first game narrowly (18-21), Malvika bounced back gallantly in the next game to force the decider.
World No. 61 Malvika saved a match-point to clinch the extended second game 22-20. However, she could not maintain the tempo and the more experienced Michelle Li raced 21-9 in the decider to book her spot in the last 16.
Similarly, Aakarshi Kashyap couldn't take advantage of her promotion to the main draw, losing to Line Højmark Kjaersfeldt of Denmark 15-21, 14-21 in 34 minutes.
Veteran men’s singles players Parupalli Kashyap and Subhankar Dey bowed out in straight games. While Kashyap lost to Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Thailand) 13-21, 13-21, Subhankar was no match for China’s Zhao Jun Peng.
Indian Results (Round 1)
Men’s singles
Parupalli Kashyap lost to Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Thailand) 13-21, 13-21 (44 minutes)
Subhankar Dey lost to Zhao Jun Peng (China) 15-21, 8-21 (33 minutes)
Women’s singles
Malvika Bansod lost to Michelle Li (Canada) 18-21, 22-20, 9-21 (58 minutes)
Aakarshi Kashyap lost to Line Højmark Kjaersfeldt (Denmark) 15-21, 14-21 (34 minutes)
Men’s doubles
Krishna Prasad Garaga-Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala bt Hiroki Okampura-Masayuki Onodera (Japan) 24-22, 21-11 (40 minutes)
Ishaan Bhatnagar-K Sai Pratheek bt Callum Hemming-Steven Stallwood (England) 21-15, 21-16 (30 minutes)
R Arjun-Dhruv Kapila lost to 6-Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi (Malaysia) 13-21, 22-20, 19-21 (59 minutes)
Women’s doubles
Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand Pullela bt Debora Jille-Cheryl Seinen (Netherlands) 21-15, 21-12 (37 minutes)
Ashwini Ponnappa-N Sikki Reddy lost to 5-Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida (Japan) 13-21, 13-21 (39 minutes).
