Badminton: Gayatri Gopichand, Samiya Farooqui move to second round of Dutch Junior International

Six Indian shuttlers, including Samiya Farooqui and Gayatri Gopichand, cruised into the second round of the singles event at the Dutch Junior International in Haarlem, PTI reported. Last month, the former under-15 Asian Junior Championships gold medallist, who logged in the maximum points among girls in the domestic tournaments last month, recorded an effortless 21-12, 21-11 win over England’s Lisa Curtin on Wednesday. The in-form Gopichand, winner of two All India Junior ranking titles, staved off some stiff resistance from Korea’s Da Jeong Chung to win 21-18, 22-20. Teresa Jolly also kick-started her campaign with a 21-15, 21-17 victory over Leona Michalski.

In boy’s singles, there was no stopping Maisnam Meiraba Luwang, who had won a couple of All India Junior Ranking Tournaments to secure his berth in the team. In a 30-minute clash with Sweden’s Ludvig Petre Olsson, the Manipur shuttler scripted a 21-10, 21-11 victory. Priyanshu Rajawat showed nerves of steel to eke out a gritty 19-21, 21-18, 21-17 win over Magnus Klinggaard, while Sai Charan Koya easily beat Calle Fredholm 21-11, 21-14. In the doubles event, three Indian pairs made a winning start in the first round. Ishaan Bhatnagar-Edwin Joy and Navaneeth Bokka-Vishnu Vardhan Goud Panjala won their respective matches to enter the second round in the boy’s doubles.

Chhattisgarh’s Bhatnagar and Kerala’s Joy displayed some stunning resilience to register a comeback 16-21, 21-17, 21-17 win over Rafael Gravois and Vincent Ziegler in a 58-minute marathon. Bokka and Panjala – both from Telangana – had it easier as the duo demolished Rens Lagrouw and Dyon Van Wijlick 21-14, 21-13. In the girl’s doubles, Teresa Jolly and Varshini Viswanath Sri beat Kirsten De Wit and Jaymie Laurens 21-10, 21-16, while Bokka and Sahithi Bandi crumbled to a 21-23, 21-17, 13-21 defeat to Zheng Xunjin and Qian Gouhong in a hard-fought opener in the mixed doubles event.