Malvika third Indian after Saina, Sindhu to reach quarterfinal in China Open, ends India's six-year wait

NAGPUR: Has India found the successor for Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu in women's singles badminton? A day after Malvika Bansod ousted world no. 7 Gregoria Mariska Tunjung to register her biggest career victory, the Nagpur shuttler ended the six-year wait for an Indian women's singles player to reach the quarterfinal stage of the China Open Super 1000 badminton tournament.

On Thursday, in a nail-biting 65-minute pre-quarterfinal, 23-year-old Malvika surprised two-time Commonwealth Games medallist Kristy Gilmour of Scotland 21-17, 19-21, 21-16 to enter the last-eight stage of the BWF world tour event in Changzhou.

In 2018, PV Sindhu was the last Indian shuttler to qualify for the quarterfinals of the China Open, where she lost to China's YF Chen 11-21, 21-11, 15-21. In the 2019 edition, both Saina and Sindhu lost their opening round matches.

In her maiden appearance at the China Open, the 43rd-ranked Malvika hogged the limelight when she scored her third career win in five meetings over world no. 25 Kirsty. "To be among the top in my first China Open is a great feeling," Malvika said, adding, "I had actually dreamt of it when I came into the tournament, so I said, how would it be if I reached the quarterfinals? And I wake up and I am in the top eight. So it feels great."

Gilmour, a formidable opponent, acknowledged Malvika's tenacity, "I played a decent game today but the conditions and the opponent were tough."

Malvika, who turned 23 on September 15, says that her birthday week is always special. "Usually, I play well in my birthday week. It has been a lucky week, and it's going strong now. So I hope the luck will continue. Last year this time, I played well at the Hong Kong Open and got selected to represent India in the Asian Games."

On the back-to-back wins over higher-rated experienced opponents, Malvika said, "It's like a dream come true, the biggest achievement of my life so far. Beating Tunjung was definitely the biggest win of my career. This is the first time I will be playing the quarterfinals of a Super 1000 tournament and hope to give my best."

In the quarterfinal, Malvika will face fourth seed and former world no. 1 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan and hopes to get her best-ever career result. Malvika said, "I am in good form, let's see how it goes tomorrow. I hope for the best. I will give my best."

The head-to-head record between the two stands in favour of Yamaguchi. Though the two-time world champion won both the outings against Malvika, the Nagpur girl came close to beating Yamaguchi in the Asia championship last year.


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