A host of Indian shuttlers moved to the next round of Odisha Masters 2023 on Thursday. The names include in-form doubles pair Ashwini Ponnappa-Tanisha Crasto, doubles duo Rutuparna Panda-Swetaparna Panda, and singles players Unnati Hooda, Kiran George.
In the first match of the day, it was India’s turn to go head-to-head with Indonesia in the Mixed Doubles Round of 16. The Indian pair of Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kakila went head-to-heads with Amri Syahawi and partner and Winny Oktavina Kandow of Indonesia. The Indian pair entered the Quarterfinals by winning the match 21-16, 21-12.
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In the Women’s Doubles, Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto faced Arul Bala Radhakrishnan & Varshini Viswanath Sri in the Round of 16. Ashwini & Tanisha won 21-13 & 21-13 to comfortably move to the next round.
In another doubles, Rutuparna Panda-Swetaparna Panda won their match against Simran Singhi and Ritika Thaker to make it to the Quarterfinals.
Ashwini Ponnappa and Rohan Kapoor faced off against Sumeet Reddy and Sikki Reddy in the Round of 16 mixed doubles. Sumeet and Sikki won the first set 21-14 in a match that was full of ups and downs. Ashwini-Rohan pair made a strong comeback in the next set, winning the set 21-17. However, Sumeeth-Sikki held on to their nerves in the third set to see off the game 21-14 and progress to the Quarterfinals.
In other Singles matches, Unnati Hooda won her match against Ashmita Chaliha, as did Chirag Sen against Mads Christophersen.