Taipei Open 2024 was playing out as a mixed day for the Indian badminton shuttlers as the men’s singles players Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and Sankar Subramanian had reached the quarterfinals.
The players in the women’s singles category lost their chances in quarterfinal itself.
The tournament, held in Taipei, has been producing some intense games as the players – new and old – get to face each other on an international level.
“Karunakaran’s perseverance and tactical play were key in his victory against a tough opponent.”
Karunakaran’s Hard-Fought Victory
Indian Women’s Singles Disappointments
Three Indian women’s singles players were knocked out in the quarterfinals:
Player |
Opponent |
Result |
Aakarshi Kashyap |
Pornpicha Choeikeewong (Thailand) |
19-21, 18-21 |
Taniya Hemanth |
Tai Tzu Ying (Chinese Taipei) |
11-21, 10-21 |
Anupama Upadhyaya |
Lauren Lam (USA) |
21-17, 19-21, 11-21 |
He had to work hard to get through for the quarterfinal as Sathish Kumar Karunakaran. Obviously.
The match Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen was a very tight match from start to finish. Karunakaran was, therefore, able to defeat Wangcharoen in two sets but with a lot of expectations and tight scores of 24-22 and 23-21.
That was the case during this match and the major strength that helped him through sections where he would have been overwhelmed by pressure.
For this triumph, Karunakaran has arranged a quarterfinal, which will be a strong person challenging him again.
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Subramanian Overcomes Stiff Challenge
Image credit: Sportster: The Hindu
“Subramanian’s ability to recover and dominate in the final set highlighted his tenacity and skill.”
Another Indian hopeful, Sankar Subramanian, also progressed to the quarters but was not without a bit of trouble.
He met with Finland’s Joakim Oldorff in a match that featured good and powerful strokes as well as good scrambling where players struggled to snatch points.
In the first set, Subramanian came out easily, winning the set by 21-12, but Oldorff was equally endowed in the second set, winning by 21-19.
The decider in the match was had Subramanian came from the rear again, and he fought back to clinch the third set 21-11 to make it to the quarter-final.
It will contribute much to the continually emerging image of Subramanian as a tenacious and practical player who is good at leveling contingents.
Another chance that the fans will expect is his next match in the quarterfinals and it will show the audience his outstanding performance on the court.
Kiran George’s Heartbreaking Loss
The Indian women shuttlers faced tough opponents and were unable to advance beyond the quarterfinals.”
In another round of 16 of men’s singles badminton match, Kiran George was up against Indonesia’s Yohanes Saut Marcellyno.
George continued the match successfully as he made an early lead by clinching the first set 21-15.
However, Marcelino did not give in, and he scrambled for the second set, which he took 21-8 before heading for the third set, which he also won 21-16.
Unfortunately George was unable to sustain the kind of play that had placed him in front and had to withdraw from the championships of this shuttlecock games.
Whereas the Indian men’s singles players triumphed, the women’s singles participants had a tough time on the court.
Three Indian players were featured in the women’s Singles event, but all three were defeated in the quarter-finals;
Hence, they weren’t able to go further in the final of the event.
Aakarshi Kashyap competed with Thailand’s Pornpicha Choeikeewong. Even though Kashyap tried to challenge, the match ended in straight games: 19-21, 18-21.
As a result, although the match was rather sophisticated, Choeikeewong clinched the match relying on his experience and unique strategies, therefore sending Kashyap home.
Taniya Hemanth, who was riding high with her previous victories, was in a world championship match against the Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu Ying, who is ranked world no. 3.
The match was completely one-sided, with Tai Tzu Ying taking full command and beating her opponent 21-11 21-10 in 27 minutes. Sadly, Hemanth could not get into the groove against the number one seed, and the Taipei Open run was over for her.
Upcoming Matches
- Men’s Singles: Karunakaran and Subramanian will compete in the quarterfinals.
- Women’s Doubles: The Pandas (Rituparna and Swetaparna) will face Lok Lok Lui and Hiu Yan Tsang.
- Women’s Singles: RKshitha Ramaraj will battle Asuka Takahashi from Japan in the quarterfinals.
“The focus now shifts to the remaining matches where Indian shuttlers will look to improve their standings.”
Anupama Upadhyaya had a similar experience wherein she also failed despite having a good start.
In her first match, she was able to beat her American opponent, Lauren Lam, in the first set, 21-17. But to everyone’s surprise.
Lam bounced back spectacularly and took the next two sets 21-19, 21-11 to move to the next stage, which is the semifinals.
Upadhyaya’s disqualification was especially painful because she was quite a promising player in the tournament but could not play to the level she was capable of in the highly tense bits.
While the women’s singles players have been knocked out of the tournament contention, interest in the tournament continues in India through Karunakaran and Subramanian to advance in the men’s singles.
The attention now turns to these players as they go into their quarter-final games.
Apart from the men’s singles, the Indian Women will be in a doubles match against Hong Kong Rio Tsai Rituparna Panda, and Swetaparna Panda will be up against Lok Lok Lui and Hiu Yan Tsang.
The Pandas have begun the tournament in the right manner and another triumph in the next match could make Indians still have a shot in the women’s doubles event.
Another match to watch is RKshitha Ramaraj’s quarter-final match in the women’s singles category against Asuka Takahashi of Japan.
Ramaraj is up for a difficult fight, but one can make the distinction in India’s favor could come as a timely tonic to the Indian squad.
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Reference
https://sportstar.thehindu.com/badminton/taipei-open-sathish-kumar-karunakaran-sankar-subramanian-results-score-badminton-news/article68604213.ece