Prannoy, Ayush enter second round of Australian Open

Blitz Bureau

NEW DELHI: Indian shuttlers showed resilience at the Australian Open Super 500 on November 19, with HS Prannoy, Ayush Shetty, and Tharun Mannepalli fighting through tough first-round matches to reach the men’s singles second round. Prannoy, returning to one of his favourite battlegrounds after finishing as runner-up here in 2023, had to fight 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 summoned his big-match composure, tightening his defence and controlling the rallies to dominate the next two games 21-12, 21-17 in a 57-minute contest. He now faces Indonesia’s eighth seed Alwi Farhan. Ayush Shetty continued his upward trajectory on the BWF Tour, demonstrating why he is considered one of India’s most promising emerging talents. The world No. 32, fresh from his first Super 300 victory 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 greater joy for India through Tharun Mannepalli, who kept his composure in a 66-minute thriller against Denmark’s Magnus Johannesen. The Macau Open semifinalist displayed remarkable poise during the tense final moments, winning 21-13, 17-21, 21-19. The 2023 National Games gold medallist now faces a tough challenge against fifth seed Lin Chun-Yi of China Taipei. Kiran George came agonisingly close to extending the Indian 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 on his way to the Japan Masters final last week.

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