Korea Open - Sindhu, Srikanth out, Prannoy onto pre-quarters

The Round of 32 at the Korea Open proved to be exciting for Indian badminton fans worldwide, with a total of 13 Indians were in action on Wednesday. The 13 Indian matches included 6 Women's Singles, 5 Men's Singles, and 2 Mixed Doubles.

For the women's singles event, the first player in action was Tasnim Mir. Mir was up against home player Kim Ga-eun. Tasnim was unable to find her rhythm in the first game, but seemed to adjust better in the second. Despite this, she conceded a 11-21, 18-21 defeat. Next up on court was Malvika Bansod, who was battling Chinese Taipei legend Tai Tzu Ying. Bansod lost the match 17-21, 7-21.

Indian star and fan-favorite P.V Sindhu was next in action at the Korea Open. In an unexpected turn of events, Sindhu lost out to unseeded opponent Pai Yu Po 18-21, 21-10 13-21. The next two players from India for the WS category were Aakarshi Kashyap and Ashmita Chaliha. Aakarshi lost out to Chinese opponent Zhang Yi Man 12-21, 17-21, while Ashmita fell short against reigning Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei. The last women's singles player was Tanya Hemanth, who lost out to Saena Kawakami 11-21, 17-21.

Priyanshu Rajawat was the first men's singles player from India in action on the day. Displaying a variety of strokes and unending stamina, he claimed a 21-15, 21-19 win over Korean Choi Ji-hoon. Following Rajawat was Kiran George. George lost out to a better playing opponent Wang Tzu Wei, with a scoreline of 17-21, 9-21. Mithun Manjunath was the third Indian men's singles player to grace the court at the Korea Open. Manjunath was unable to conquer his Malaysian opponent Ng Tze Yong, losing in straight games.

Next up was the much anticipated match between Srikanth Kidambi and Japanese world champion Kento Momoto. While Srikanth clinched the first game 21-12, Momoto was quick to fight back to win the next two sets 22-24 and 17-21. Concluding the men's singles event was H.S. Prannoy, who took an easy 21-13, 21-17 victory over Julien Carraggi.

The only two mixed doubles pairs from India playing at the Korea Open were Sumeeth/Ashwini and Rohan/Sikki. Sumeeth and Ashwini had a long drawn battle against Koreans Cho/Lee. Ultimately, the scoreline read 21-23, 21-13, 12-21 in favor of Cho and Lee. Finishing off India's campaign today were Rohan and Sikki who made quick work of their match to claim a 21-17, 21-17 victory over Morada/Leonardo.

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India's Results At The 2023 Korea Open

Thai is what the scoreboard looked like for Indian players at the end of the Round of 32 at the Korea Open.

Women's singles

Tasnim Mir vs Kim Ga-eun

11-21, 18-21

Malvika Bansod vs Tai Tzu Ying

17-21, 7-21

P.V. Sindhu vs Pai Yu Po

18-21, 21-10, 13-21

Aakarshi Kashyap vs Zhang Yi Man

12-21, 17-21

Ashmita Chaliha vs Chen Yu Fei

13-21, 12-21

Tanya Hemanth vs Saena Kawakami

11-21, 17-21

Men's Singles

Priyanshu Rajawat vs Choi Ji-hoon

21-15, 21-19

Kiran George vs Wang Tzu Wei

17-21, 9-21

Mithun Manjunath vs Ng Tze Yong

11-21 4-21

Kidambi Srikanth vs Kento Momoto

21-12, 22-24, 17-21 .

H.S. Prannoy vs Julian Carraggi

21-13, 21-17

Mixed Doubles

Sumeeth/Ashwini vs Cho/Lee

21-23, 21-13, 12-21

Rohan/Sikki vs Morada/Leonardo

21-17 21-17

While the scoreboard for India didn't look very promising today, there are still 5 Indians left in the game, fighting for a quarterfinals spot. With some exciting matches coming up, the Round of 16 tomorrow should be a treat for every badminton fan.