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The Yonex Sunrise India Junior International 2018 witnessed a big upset on Friday as the top seeded women’s singles player, Vaishnavi Reddy Jakka was sent packing in the first round of this Junior International Grand Prix event held in Pune. Thailand’s Atitaya Povanon, who is ranked only 126th, came back from a game down to show the door to the junior World No. 6 Jakka 19-21, 21-12, 21-17 after a 51 minute battle.
Jakka, one of the fastest rising Indian youngsters, had come to this tournament on the back of a win at the Ukraine Junior International last week, where she did not drop a game on her way to the title. However, she failed to replicate those efforts at her home tournament.
In contrast, third seed Purva Barve and fourth seed Aakarshi Kashyap made their way to the quarter-finals of the India Junior International. Barve had to work hard to earn a 21-11, 18-21, 23-21 win over Singapore’s Insyirah Khan, after which she breezed past Indonesia’s Desima Aqmar Syarafina 21-12, 21-9.
Kashyap too conceded a game in her 21-19, 13-21, 21-16 win over Putri Kusuma Wardani. She then emerged a 21-14, 21-5 winner over Thailand’s Pornpicha Choeikeewong 21-14, 21-5 to enter the last-eight stage.
Other than Jakka’s defeat, a few other higher seeds too departed the tournament on Friday. India’s Smit Toshniwal caused an upset when she knocked out the second seed Chasinee Korepap 21-16, 22-20 to make it through to the quarters.
She set up an all-Indian clash with Malvika Bansod after the latter edged Keyura Mopati 18-21, 21-11, 21-12.
Unseeded Unnati Bisht of India was another one to show the door to a seed. She displayed her talent when she got the better of the seventh seed Yue Yann jaslyn Hooi 21-15, 21-18 for a quarter-final meeting with Kashyap.
In men’s singles, fifth seed Kiran George and Meiraba Luwang both bowed out in the pre-quarter-finals while Priyanshu Rajawat shocked the seventh seed Wei Hong Lee 21-14, 21-18 to enter the quarter-finals.
