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The third day of the BWF India Open witnessed the biggest upset of tournament as fifth seed Saina Nehwal was knocked out after a shocking defeat to compatriot Malvika Bansod. However, the top seeds PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen made progress to the last-eight stage with dominating wins. Young sensation Ashmita Chaliha also made it to the quarterfinals with an easy victory over France's Yaelle Hoyaux. The Men's doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty too advanced to the quarterfinals.
Unseeded Ashmita Chaliha continued her impressive run in the tournament and beat her French opponent Yaelle Hoyaux comfortably in just 30 minutes. After clinching the first game 21-17, Chaliha sealed the match by winning the second game 21-14. Meanwhile, two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu defeated Ira Sharma in an all-India affair. Sindhu took the game 21-10, 21-10 in 30 minutes to cruise into the quarters at the India Open. Chaliha and Sindhu will be up against each other in the quarterfinals.
Malvika Stuns Saina!
The biggest turnaround of the tournament was done by 20-year-old shuttler Malviak Bansod who defeated former World No. 1 Saina Nehwal in straight games. Nehwal, who was out with injuries in the past few tournaments, was left shell-shocked as Bansod took the first game 21-17. To add salt to Nehwal's wounds, the young shuttler won the second game with an even bigger margin (21-9). "This has not sunk in yet. The feeling is great and I was really excited after the win," said 20-year-old Bansod. She will now face compatriot Aakarshi Kashyap in the quarters.
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In the men's singles category, third seed and World Championship bronze medalist Lakshya Sen outclassed his Swedish counterpart Felix Burestedt and took the game 21-12, 21-15. Meanwhile, HS Prannoy progressed to the next round as he got a walkover from compatriot Mithun Manjunath (the latter being diagnosed with COVID-19). Thus, Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy will face each other in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Chirag-Satwik continue their impressive run
The men's doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty continued their fine form as they defeated Shayam Prasad and S Sunjith (Jr) in an all-India affair. They took the game 21-9, 21-18 in their favor in just 32 minutes. The duo will face Singapore's Hee Yong Kai Terry and Loh Kean Hean in the next round.
Meanwhile, in the women's doubles, India will have representation from Ashwini Bhatt and Shikha Gautam. The duo will face the Russian duo of Ekaterina Malkova and Anastasiia Shapovalova in the quarterfinals. Earlier, the experienced duo of Ashwini Ponappa and N Sikki Reddy withdrew from the tournament after testing positive for COVID-19. Venkat Gaurav Prasad/Juhi Devgan and Nithin HV/Ashwini Bhatt pair will represent Indian in the Mixed Doubles category.