India’s Ashmita Chaliha delivered a composed and resilient performance to book her place in the women’s singles main draw of the Thailand Masters Super 300 in Bangkok on Tuesday, registering two hard-fought victories in the qualification rounds.
The 26-year-old shuttler from Guwahati showed impressive mental strength as she navigated contrasting challenges across two matches in a single day. In her opening qualification encounter, Ashmita overcame Chinese Taipei’s Hung Yi-Ting in three games, winning 21–15, 12–21, 21–12 in a contest that lasted 42 minutes. After comfortably taking the first game, Ashmita was pushed onto the back foot in the second, but responded with authority in the decider, controlling rallies and using her court coverage effectively to seal the win.
She carried that momentum into her second match, where she faced a stern test from Korea’s Kim Joo Eun. Ashmita dominated the opening game 21–11, only to see Kim fight back strongly in the second. Once again, the Indian shuttler found another gear in the deciding game, closing out the match 21–16 in 45 minutes to confirm her progression into the main draw.
Ashmita’s performance continues her steady rise on the international circuit. She was part of the Indian squad that clinched the gold medal at the Asia Team Championships in Selangor last year, and her showing in Bangkok underlined her ability to compete under pressure.
In the main draw, Ashmita will face fellow Indian Devika Sihag, ensuring India a presence in the next round of the women’s singles.
Elsewhere in the qualifiers, India endured mixed results. Shreya Lele bowed out after a closely fought three-game loss to Indonesia’s Ni Kadek Dhinda Amartya Pratiwi, going down 12–21, 21–12, 15–21.
In mixed doubles, the Indian pair of M. Jaglan and L. Jaglan were defeated convincingly by Chinese Taipei’s Bo-Yuan Chen and Sung Yi-Hsuan.
The men’s doubles duo of P. Krishnamurthy Roy and S. Pratheek K narrowly lost to Malaysia’s fourth-seeded N. Azriyn and Tan W K, while the women’s doubles pair Ashwini Bhat K and Shikha Gautam were eliminated by Indonesia’s fifth-seeded combination.
Despite the mixed outcomes, Ashmita Chaliha’s qualification run stood out as a positive highlight for India at the Bangkok event.
