Kiran won the Odisha Open with a 21-18 22-20 victory over third seed Shi Yu Qi, a silver medalist at the 2018 World Championships.
Kiran George of India stormed into the pre-quarterfinals of the Thailand Open Super 500 event in Bangkok on Wednesday with a remarkable straight-game triumph against world number 9 Shi Yuqi of China. In the women’s singles, Ashmita Chaliha and Saina Nehwal both got off to a winning start.
On a day when Kidambi Srikanth and B Sai Praneeth were knocked out early, Odisha Open winner Kiran, a product of the Prakash Padukone programme, defeated third seed Shi Yu Qi, a 2018 world championships silver medalist, 21-18 22-20.
Kiran will next face China’s Weng Hong Yang.
In other rounds, Ashmita defeated compatriot Malvika Bansod 17-21 14-21, while Saina defeated Canada’s Wen Yu Zhang 21-13 21-7.
Ashmita will likely face Rio Olympic gold medalist Carolina Marin, who is seeded fourth, while Saina will likely face He Bing Jiao of China.
Srikanth fell 8-21 21-16 14-21 to China’s Weng Hong Yang, who had reached the final of the Malaysia Masters previous week.
In another match, Praneeth, who played in the Tokyo Olympics, found France’s Christo Popov too hot to handle, losing 14-21 16-21.
Priyanshu Rajawat, the champion of the Orleans Masters, too failed to clear the first hurdle, losing 19-21 10-21 to Malaysia’s Ng Tze Yong.
Former world number 11 Sameer Verma, who just won the Slovenia Open, was defeated by Denmark’s Magnus Johannesen 15-21 15-21.
PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, and Chirag Shetty are among the other Indians scheduled to compete later in the day.
The BWF World Tour is divided into six levels, which are as follows: World Tour Finals, four Super 1000, six Super 750, seven Super 500, and eleven Super 300. The BWF Tour Super 100 level is another event category that awards ranking points.
The BWF World Tour is divided into six levels: World Tour Finals, four Super 1000, six Super 750, seven Super 500, and eleven Super 300. The BWF Tour Super 100 level awards ranking points as well.
