Sydney, 19 November (Udaipur Kiran). India made a strong start at the Australian Open Super 500 badminton tournament, with H.S. Prannoy, Ayush Shetty and Tharun Mannepalli registering impressive first-round victories to secure their place in the second round.
2023 runner-up H.S. Prannoy staged a remarkable comeback after a poor start, defeating world No. 85 Yohanes Saut Marcellino 6-21, 21-12, 21-17 in a 57-minute battle. Prannoy will now face Indonesia’s eighth seed Alwi Farhan.
World No. 32 Ayush Shetty displayed excellent form, beating Canada’s Sam Yuan 21-11, 21-15 in just 33 minutes. The 20-year-old will next meet the winner of the match between Japan’s fourth seed Kodai Naraoka and Canada’s Xiaodong Sheng.
Meanwhile, Tharun Mannepalli claimed a hard-fought win over Denmark’s Magnus Johannesen, scoring 21-13, 17-21, 21-19 in a 66-minute contest. He will now take on fifth seed Lin Chun-Yi of Chinese Taipei.
India’s Kiran George showed strong resilience but narrowly missed out, losing 21-11, 22-24, 17-21 to sixth seed Kenta Nishimoto.
Later in the day, Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth will play their respective first-round matches.
Bhupendra Singh Chundawat is a seasoned technology journalist with over 22 years of experience in the media industry. He specializes in covering the global technology landscape, with a deep focus on manufacturing trends and the geopolitical impact on tech companies. Currently serving as the Editor at Udaipur Kiran, his insights are shaped by decades of hands-on reporting and editorial leadership in the fast-evolving world of technology.
