The Singapore Masters has started and some of the most talented shuttlers from all over the world are participating in this prestigious event. The Indian shuttlers will also be looking to make the most of their opportunities as they have also come to Singapore with the intention of winning it all. Overall it was a good opening day for the Indian female shuttlers as Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu and Ashmita Chaliha have all registered wins and have progressed to the next round of the tournament.
The SIngapore Masters is a very intensely fought tournament as the best players from all over the globe participate in it, so it will be very difficult for our Indian shuttlers to make their mark. It will test the resolve of our Indian shuttlers especially in Women’s SIngles where the expectation is much higher. Also with three shuttlers in good rhythm there’s a chance that one of the three may go deep into the tournament.
The first day of the tournament had a lot of exciting events as some of the top Indian shuttlers went through to the initial challenges, some also lost their way and are out of the Singapore Masters in the first round.
Indian ace Kidambi Srikanth who was seventh seed in the tournament lost his way and was knocked out in the first round as he lost out against another Indian Mithun Manjunath. The match went down to the wire but Manjunath held his nerve to win the match 21-17, 15-21, 21-18. However HS Prannoy had a much comfortable outing as he defeated Sitthikom Thammasin of Thailand by a 21-13, 21-16 score.
In other matches in the Men’s SIngles, Parupalli Kashyap was against fifth seed Jonathan Christie and the Indonesian shuttler had hardly any trouble in beating the Indian veteran. Similarly Sameer Verma also got knocked out following his defeat against China’s Li Shi Feng.
In the Women’s Singles things were lot more positive as youngster Ashmita Chaliha pulled off the upset of the day as she defeated seventh seed Busanan Ongbamrungphan in straight games 21-16, 21-11 and finished the game in only 31 minutes. It was complete dominance from the Indian as she progressed to the next round. Badminton veteran Saina Nehwal staged a nice win over compatriot Malvika Bansod by 21-18, 21-14. India’s ace shuttler PV SIndhu also did not hold back as she saw the end of Tan of Belgium by 21-15, 21-11.
Lastly in Doubles, Pooja Dandu and Arathi Sunil received a walkover but their next opponents in Yue Du and Li Wen Mei from China will be an uphill battle for the Indian duo as their opponents are sixth seed in this tournament. In Mixed Doubles also Poorvisha Ram and Nithin HV won against Israeli mother-son duo of Misha Zilberman and Svetlana Zilberman.
