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Young Indian shuttlers Malvika Bansod and Aman Farogh Sanjay will be aiming for a fine performance in the RSL Lithuanian International Badminton tournament.
The four-day Future Series tournament, organized by the Lithuanian Badminton Federation, will get underway on Thursday in Kaunas, Lithuania.
Only two Indians - one each in men’s singles and women’s singles - are competing in the tournament because of the raging pandemic and tough travel restrictions.
Malvika Bansod has been given the third seeding in a draw of 32 players in the women’s singles. The 19-year-old southpaw did well in the last international tournament in Austria by reaching the quarter-finals. The world No. 128 missed the semi-final berth by a whisker after losing the hard-fought Austrian Open quarters just a couple of weeks ago.
Top seed Clara Azurmendi of Spain overcame the brave fight by Malvika Bansod and registered a 21-17, 15-21, 21-19 win in 47 minutes. The world No. 67 from Madrid then went on to win the title.
Aman Farogh Sanjay promoted to main draw
Malvika Bansod is in the bottom half of the draw in Lithuania and will take on local girl Vilte Paulauskaite on Friday. If she wins, Malvika Bansod will meet the winner of Heli Neiman of Israel and Finland’s Hanna Karkaus in the second round.
The first big test for Malvika Bansod will be in the quarter-finals where she is expected to meet sixth seed Helin Pajuste of Estonia.
Ksenia Polikarpova of Israel is the top seed. The 31-year-old is very experienced on the international circuit and ranked 57 in the world.
Second seed and world No. 127 Goh Jin Wei of Malaysia has been withdrawn from the tournament.
Sanjay Mishra, Malvika Bansod's coach, is optimistic of a strong performance by his ward in Lithuania.
“After doing well in Austria late last month, she is looking confident on the court. We had some wonderful training sessions at Raipur last week and she is playing brilliantly. Looking at the field in Lithuania, she should do well,” said Sanjay Mishra, a national junior coach.
Meanwhile, Aman Farogh Sanjay has been promoted in the main draw. The 21-year-old left-handed shuttler was slated to play in the qualifiers.
“Chief referee informed me that I have been promoted in the main draw. I will play my first round on Friday but the opponent has not been decided yet. I had good practice with Malvika at the tournament venue today. We will also have a light session tomorrow as well,” said Aman Farogh Sanjay, a member of the Thane Academy.
