Kidambi exits from Thailand Open, Sindhu progresses to quarter-finals

The Indian shuttlers had a mixed day in the tournament.

Indian Badminton star Kidambi Srikanth suffered an exit from the Thailand Open 2022 after giving a walkover to Irish shuttler Nhat Nguyen in the men’s singles second-round match on Wednesday.

He had defeated French shutter Brice Leverdez in the first-round match and was scheduled to face Nguyen in the second game. However, he announced the decision to forfeit the game and give a walkover win to Nguyen, allowing him to move onto the quarter-finals of the Thailand Open.

It has still not been confirmed exactly why Srikanth had to walk away from the game, whether because of injury or any other issues. Kidambi starred in India’s recent Thomas Cup win and came into the Thailand Open with a lot of momentum.

But his campaign has now met a bitter end after an unfortunate walkover loss in the second round.

Sindhu marches on to quarter-finals, Bansod knocked out

PV Sindhu continued her solid form in the Thailand Open by defeating South Korean shuttler Sim Yu-jin in the women’s singles second-round match. Sindhu came into the match after a hard-fought win over American shuttler Lauren Lam in the first round, as the Indian star barely defeated her 21-19, 18-21, 21-18 in a closely fought encounter.

However, Sindhu ensured that she was not forced to the limit in the second-round match. She started the match on the front foot and took the first game 21-16 to take control of the bout. Sindhu forced errors from the South Korean shuttler and overwhelmed her in the second game, winning the match 21-16, 21-13 to move onto the quarter-finals – where she’ll face seed no.2 Akane Yamaguchi.

While Sindhu tasted sweet success, Manika Bansod failed to replicate the same. Bansod started her second-round clash against Danish shuttler Line Christophersen and won the first game 21-16 to take early control in the game.

But Bansod lost all her momentum from the second game and nose-dived down. Christophersen outwitted her completely, winning both the next two games to win the match 16-21, 21-14, 21-14 to move onto the quarter-finals and end Bansod’s journey.

Disappointment in the doubles bracket

The Indian doubles shuttlers had a day to forget in the Thailand open as well. In the mixed doubles second round encounter, Indian duo Ishan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto were knocked out after losing their match against Malaysian duo Shevon Lai and Goh Soon Huat 21-19, 22-20 to get eliminated.

In the Women’s Doubles second-round clash, Indian duo Shikha Gautam and Ashwini Bhat were overwhelmed by seed no.6 Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara – suffering a 21-19, 21-6 loss to get knocked out.

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