Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth made a strong return to badminton, progressing to the second round of the Macau Open 2024 men’s singles after defeating Israel’s Daniil Dubovenko on Wednesday.
Ranked 38th, Srikanth faced off against the 102nd-ranked Dubovenko, winning decisively with a score of 21-14, 21-15 in the round of 32. This marked Srikanth’s first BWF tournament since his injury retirement at the Singapore Open in May, and he displayed impressive form from the start.
He quickly established a 6-1 lead in the first game, maintaining his advantage to secure the win. In the second game, Srikanth jumped to a 6-0 lead, but Dubovenko closed the gap to just one point at 11-10 and again at 14-13. However, Srikanth regained control and finished the match in 47 minutes.
Next, Srikanth will face Ayush Shetty in the second round of this BWF Super 300 event on Thursday. Shetty advanced after a commanding 21-13, 21-5 victory over compatriot Alap Mishra.
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In women’s singles, former junior world No. 1 Tasnim Mir triumphed over Devika Sihag with a score of 15-21, 21-18, 22-20 to secure her place in the second round.
In mixed doubles, B. Sumeeth Reddy and N. Sikki Reddy defeated Malaysia’s Loo Bing Kun and Ho Lo Ee with scores of 24-22, 10-21, 21-13 in their round of 32 match.
Commonwealth Games bronze medallists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand also advanced to the women’s doubles pre-quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Notably, all Indian players who participated in the Paris 2024 Olympics, including PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen, are not competing in the Macau Open, which will conclude on Sunday.
Macau Open 2024 badminton: Indian results on Day 2
Women’s singles
- Anupama Upadhyaya lost to Riko Gunji (JPN) 21-12, 20-22, 21-7
- Isharani Baruah lost to Wu Luo Yu (CHN) 21-7, 21-15
- Tasnim Mir beat Devika Sihag 15-21, 21-18, 22-20
- Tanya Hemanth lost to Liang Ting Yu (TPE) 21-18, 21-19
Men’s singles
- Kidambi Srikanth beat Daniil Dubovenko (ISR) 21-14, 21-15
- Chirag Sen lost to NG Ka Long Angus (HKG) 21-12, 21-17
- Sankar Subramanian lost to Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul (THA) 21-14, 10-21,
- Sameer Verma lost to Wang Zheng Xing (CHN) 21-18, 11-21, 13-21
- Mithun Manjunath lost to Huang Yu Kai (TPE) 21-12, 21-15
- Ayush Shetty beat Alap Mishra 21-13, 21-5
Mixed doubles
- B Sumeeth Reddy/N Sikki Reddy beat Loo Bing Kun/Ho Lo Ee (MAS) 24-22, 10-21, 21-13
- Rohan Kapoor/Ruthvika Shivani Gadde lost to Ruttanapak Oupthog/Jhenicha Sudjaipraparat (THA) 23-21, 24-22
Women’s doubles
- Ruthvika Shivani Gadde/N Sikki Reddy vs Nicole Gonzales Chan/Yang Chu Yun (TPE) (still to be played)
- Apoorva Gahlawat/Sakshi Gahlawat vs Ding Ke Yun/Luo Yi (CHN) (still to be played)
