Badminton: Gayatri Gopichand, Samiya Farooqui move to 2nd spherical of Dutch Junior International
Six Indian shuttlers, including Samiya Farooqui and Gayatri Gopichand, cruised into the second round of the singles occasion at the Dutch Junior International in Haarlem, PTI said. The former under-15 Asian Junior Championships gold medallist, who logged inside the maximum points among girls in the home tournaments a final month, recorded a handy 21-12, 21-eleven win over England’s Lisa Curtin on Wednesday. The in-shape Gopichand, winner of two All India Junior ranking titles, staved off some stiff resistance from Korea’s Da Jeong Chung to win 21-18, 22-20. Teresa Jolly commenced her marketing campaign with a 21-15, 21-17 victory over Leona Michalski. In boy’s singles, there has been no stopping Maisnam Meiraba Luwang, who had received a couple of All India Junior Ranking Tournaments, from securing his berth within the group. In a 30-minute clash with Sweden’s Ludvig Petre Olsson, the Manipur shuttler scripted a 21-10, 21-eleven victory. Priyanshu Rajawat confirmed nerves of metallic to eke out a gritty 19-21, 21-18, 21-17 win over Magnus Klinggaard, while Sai Charan Koya, without problems, beat Calle Fredholm 21-11, 21-14. In the doubles event, three Indian pairs made a winning start in the first round. Ishaan Bhatnagar-Edwin Joy and Navaneeth Bokka-Vishnu Vardhan Goud Panjala gained their respective suits to go into the second round inside the boys’ doubles.
Chhattisgarh’s Bhatnagar and Kerala’s Joy displayed some beautiful resilience to check in a comeback sixteen-21, 21-17, 21-17 win over Rafael Gravois and Vincent Ziegler in a fifty-eight-minute marathon. Bokka and Panjala – each from Telangana – had it less complicated because the duo demolished Rens Lagrouw and Dyon Van Wijlick 21-14, 21-thirteen. In the women’s doubles, Treesa Jolly and Varshini Viswanath Sri beat Kirsten De Wit and Jaymie Laurens 21-10, 21-sixteen, while Bokka and Sahithi Bandi crumbled to a 21-23, 21-17, 13-21 defeat to Zheng Xunjin and Qian Gouhong in a tough-fought opener in the blended doubles event.