Abu Dhabi Masters Super 100 Results Day 1: Kiran George, Unnati Hooda clinch victories
The Abu Dhabi Masters Super 100 tournament saw a large participation from India’s top and upcoming badminton players, unlike the Denmark Open taking place in Odense, where most of India’s players withdrew due to various reasons.
Among the 40-plus Indian players battling it out at the Abu Dhabi Masters, Ashwini Ponnappa, Tanisha Crasto, Kiran George, and Unnati Hooda are some of the prominent players that will be seen in action in the Gulf City.
On October 18, the first day of the main draw, several Indian players were seen sweating it out on the court. Top-seed Kiran George lived up to his reputation and secured his place in the pre-quarterfinals. Unnati Hooda, Raghu M., and Shriyanshi Valishetty were among the long list of Indians who clinched victories in their respective matches.
A look at all the results
Men's Singles:
In the men's singles category, Raghu Mariswamy displayed his abilities by defeating Canada’s B. R. Sankeerth in a hard-fought battle in the round of 64, with a score of 15-21, 21-16, 21-15. He continued his impressive run by beating David Kim in the round of 32 with a score of 21-18, 21-16.
Meanwhile, Abhishek Yeligar secured his place in the next round by defeating Bruno Carvalho in the round of 64 and fellow Indian Hemanth M. Gowda in the round of 32 with scores of 21-11, 21-16.
The Junior World Championship silver medalist from 2022, S. Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian, had a great start to his campaign by triumphing over Heng Lin Ngan with a score of 21-15, 22-20, however, his journey came to an end in the second round when he faced second seed Arnaud Merkle, losing with a score of 23-25, 14-21.
On the other hand, Sathish Kumar Karunakaran caused an upset by defeating fellow Indian and fourth seed Mithun Manjunath with a score of 21-17, 12-21, 21-12.
The other Indian men’s singles players who secured a place in the last 16 are Rithvik Sanjeevi, Satish Kumar, and Vishal Vasudevan.
Men's Doubles:
The men's doubles category saw India’s Vimalraj Annadurai and Navin Prasanth Eswaramoorthy defeat UAE's Nisarg Thunga and Veluaathavan Vijayakumar with a convincing score of 21-6, 21-7 in the first round. They will now take on second-seeded Krishna Prasad and Vishnuvardhan in the second round. Prakash Raj and Hema Nagendra Babu Thandrangi also secured their place in the last 16.
Women's Singles:
The women's singles category also witnessed some spectacular performances from Indian shuttlers. Shriyanshi Valishetty managed to upset the seventh seed, Vivien Sandorhazi, with a score of 21-14, 21-5.
In another gripping match, Gadde Ruthvika Shivani narrowly lost to Kaloyana Nalbantova with scores of 22-20, 12-21, 20-22. While Samiya Imad Farooqui triumphed over Tereza Švábíková with a scoreline of 21-17, 21-18.
Mansi Singh caused an upset by emerging victorious against Polina Buhrova, the fifth seed, in a grueling match that went down to the wire. She eventually won with scores of 21-9, 16-21, 23-21. Aadya Variyath also put up an impressive performance, ending the day with a victory over Agnes Korosi. Aadya will now take on fellow Indian Samiya Farooqui in the round of 16.
The Indian shuttlers played some fantastic badminton on the first day, and with several more players taking to the court on day 2 of the tournament, Indian fans hope the shuttlers can continue their incredible performance.