India Open Badminton
Vishalakshi Verma, New Delhi:
India Open Badminton: 20-year-old Malvika Bansod took only 34 minutes to beat Saina Nehwal in straight sets at the Indian Open, the Olympic bronze medallist, 21-17, 21-9, claiming the biggest win in her young career. After PV Sindhu, she is the only Indian to defeat Nehwal in an international tournament since 2007.
Srikanth Share an Emotional Message After Exiting From India Open
Saina Nehwal Suffering From Knee Problems
Malvika was playing against her ‘idol’ for the first time, and playing against Nehwal is a ‘dream come true’ for the young shuttler. Nehwal also complimented her on her performance. “Malvika is doing well at the highest level and going to improve. She is a very good rally player. I hope she does well in the tournament,” said Nehwal, who is suffering from knee problems and is pushing to keep her body together after a three-month break. After her first-round match against Tereza Svabikova of the Czech Republic, in which she won by retirement, Nehwal stated that she is just ’60-70%’ at this point and has yet to attain her physical capacity.
In the Quarterfinals Malvika Will Face Aakarshi Kashyap
Incredibly happy, Malvika remarked, “It hasn’t sunk in yet.” The Nagpur player has shown her consistent presence in senior ranking tournaments, winning three of the All India Senior Ranking tournaments – the first in Bareilly in 2018, the second in Kozhikode, Kerala in 2019, and the third in Hyderabad last year. In the quarterfinals, Malvika will face Aakarshi Kashyap, India’s third-highest ranked women’s singles player after Sindhu and Saina.
