Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu led an impressive Indian charge at the Australian Open Super 500 badminton tournament in Sydney on Wednesday, as five Indian women advanced to the round of 16, highlighted by a stunning upset from teenage sensation Tanvi Sharma.
While the women produced a string of strong performances, it was a disappointing day for India’s men’s singles contingent, with Kiran George, Tharun Mannepalli and qualifier Saneeth Dayanand all exiting in the opening round.
Sindhu, seeded third in the tournament, made a commanding start to her campaign by brushing aside Peru’s Ines Lucia Castillo Salazar 21-13, 21-11 in just 32 minutes. The former world champion controlled the match from the outset, dictating rallies and maintaining pressure throughout to secure a comfortable victory.
Her reward is an all-Indian clash in the round of 16 against Isharani Baruah, who produced a determined performance to defeat China’s Han Qian Xi 22-20, 10-21, 21-14 in a contest lasting just over an hour.
The standout result of the day came from 17-year-old Tanvi Sharma. The world No. 36 delivered one of the biggest upsets of the opening round by defeating fifth seed and world No. 11 Chiu Pin-Chian of Chinese Taipei 21-12, 22-20. The young Indian displayed remarkable composure to close out the match in 45 minutes and book her place in the next round.
Tanvi will now face compatriot Malvika Bansod, who battled back from a game down to overcome Thailand’s Tonrug Saeheng 15-21, 21-7, 21-13. Malvika’s resilience ensured India would have at least one representative in the quarterfinals from that section of the draw.
Tanya Hemanth also joined the list of Indian winners after defeating USA’s Ishika Jaiswal 21-17, 21-18 in 39 minutes. Her next challenge will be a tough encounter against Thailand’s second seed and world No. 8 Pornpawee Chochuwong.
In the men’s singles, Kiran George fought hard before losing 19-21, 21-14, 15-21 to Malaysia’s Justin Hoh. Dayanand struggled against China’s Hu Zhe’an and went down 8-21, 10-21.
Tharun Mannepalli came closest to advancing. The Indian pushed second seed and world No. 10 Lin Chun-Yi of Chinese Taipei to the limit before narrowly losing 21-18, 13-21, 23-25 in a thrilling contest. Tharun held match points in the deciding game but was unable to finish off the upset.
There was better news in mixed doubles, where Dhruv Rawat and Maneesha K progressed to the second round with a convincing 21-13, 21-14 win over Australia’s Lim Jayden and Victoria Tjonadi.
However, Mohit Jaglan and Lakshita Jaglan exited the tournament after a straight-games defeat to second-seeded Chinese pair Guo Xin Wa and Chen Fang Hui.
With Sindhu in dominant form and Tanvi continuing her rapid rise, India’s women will carry the nation’s hopes into the next stage of the tournament.
