Indian shuttlers showed resilience at the USD 475,000 Australian Open Super 500 here on Wednesday, with H.S. Prannoy, Ayush Shetty and Tharun Mannepalli battling through tough first-round matches to reach the men’s singles second round.
Prannoy, returning to one of his favourite hunting grounds after finishing runner-up here in 2023, had to claw his way out of early trouble. The 33-year-old looked completely out of rhythm in the opening game, losing 6-21 to world No. 85 Yohanes Saut Marcellyno.
But the Asian Games bronze medallist regained his composure, tightened his defence and controlled the rallies to dominate the next two games 21-12, 21-17 in a 57-minute contest. He will now face Indonesia’s eighth seed Alwi Farhan.
Ayush Shetty continued his steady rise on the BWF Tour, reinforcing why he is seen as one of India’s most promising emerging talents. The world No. 32, fresh from his first Super 300 title at the US Open earlier this year, defeated Canada’s Sam Yuan 21-11, 21-15 in just 33 minutes.
The 20-year-old from Karnataka — a 2023 World Junior Championships bronze medallist — now awaits the winner of the clash between fourth seed Kodai Naraoka and Xiaodong Sheng.
There was more cheer for India through Tharun Mannepalli, who held his nerve in a 66-minute thriller against Denmark’s Magnus Johannesen. The Macau Open semifinalist showed remarkable poise in the closing stages to win 21-13, 17-21, 21-19. The 2023 National Games gold medallist will now face a tough challenge against fifth seed Lin Chun-Yi of Chinese Taipei.
Kiran George came agonisingly close to extending India’s run but went down fighting 21-11, 22-24, 17-21 to Japan’s sixth seed Kenta Nishimoto, who arrived high on confidence after defeating Lakshya Sen en route to the Japan Masters final last week.
Later in the day, India’s top players Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth will open their campaigns, hoping to add further momentum to a promising start for the Indian contingent.
IANS