Swiss Open 2024: Sindhu, Srikanth, Lakshya Sen, Tanisha-Ashwini among long list of Indians to enter the pre-quarterfinals
The Swiss Open 2024 has many of India’s up-and-coming shuttlers in action in addition to most of the country’s top stars. The Super 300 tournament taking place in Basel, Switzerland, is one of the last Olympic qualification events, and most of the players who are yet to seal their place for Paris will be hoping to achieve that at the tournament.
After a disappointing first day for the Indian shuttlers, with only Tressa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand moving on to the next round, the second day of the tournament saw the remaining first-round matches deliver a more positive result for the Indians.
India’s ace women’s doubles pair of Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa and India’s singles stars, PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth, and Lakshya Sen, were among the long list of Indians who secured a win in their matches.
A closer look at some of the results of the Indian shuttlers at the Swiss Open 2024:
Indian duo Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa, who are currently ranked 20th in the global rankings, are looking to improve their rankings before the end of the qualification period.
Starting their campaign with a strong performance against Indonesia’s Puspita Sari M and R. Rose, the Indian pair clinched victory in a nail-biting three-set clash, helping them gain valuable points for the race to Paris. The match, lasting an hour and 25 minutes, witnessed the Indian pair win with a scoreline of 21-18, 12-21, 21-19, and secure their berth in the pre-quarterfinals.
In the singles category, former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth has been having a tough time in recent tournaments, but the 31-year-old exhibited his class with flashes of his former self, defeating Wang Tzu Wei of Chinese Taipei with a convincing scoreline of 21-17, 21-18.
Meanwhile, Lakshya Sen, who has been in phenomenal form with back-to-back semifinal appearances, continued his incredible run with a hard-fought win against Malaysia’s Leong J. H. The score of the match was 21-19, 15-21, 21-11.
Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu also showcased her abilities with a dominating performance against Thailand’s Pornpicha Choeikeewong, securing a comfortable win with a scoreline of 21-12, 21-13.
The Indian shuttlers will now be seen in action on March 21 for their respective pre-quarterfinal matches.
Swiss Open 2024: Results at the end of day two (Indians only)
Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa (India) beat Indonesia’s Puspita Sari M and R. Rose (Indonesia) 21-18, 12-21, 21-19 in an hour and 25 minutes.
Shruti Mishra and Priya Konjengbam (India) beat Huang Yu-Hsun and Liang Ting Yu (Chinese Taipei) 21-13, 21-19
Hariharan Amsakarunan and R. Ruban Kumar (India) lost to Kenya Mitusuhashi and Hiroki Okamura (Japan) 19-21, 14-21
Kidambi Srikanth (India) beat Wang Tzu Wei (Chinese Taipei) 21-17, 21-18
Lakshya Sen (India) beat Leong J. H. (Malaysia) 21-19, 15-21, 21-11
PV Sindhu (India) beat Pornpicha Choeikeewong (Thailand) 21-12, 21-13
Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath (India) beat Roy King Yap and Valeree Siow (Malaysia) 21-18, 11-21, 21-19
Kiran George (India) beat T. Obayashi (Japan) 21-18, 21-19
Sikki Reddy and Sumeeth Reddy (India) beat Sapsiree Taerattanachai and Dechapol Puvaranukroh (Thailand) 11-3 (ret.)
Priyanshu Rajawat (India) vs. Lee C.Y. (Hong Kong) 21-12, 21-15