Madrid Masters Highlights: In a successful day for India nine shuttlers in Men and Women’s Singles won their respective first round contests at the Madrid Masters 2023. Notably PV Sindu, Kidambi Srikanth, Sameer Verma, Sai Praneeth all bagged victories in their respective opening round contests and entered the second round. Meanwhile, Women’s Doubles pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand have lost the first round contest against Japan’s Rena Miyaura/Ayako Sakuramoto. Swiss Open winners Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were forced to pull out after trailing 9-11 in the first game against Japan’s Ayato Endo and Yuta Takei. Follow Madrid Masters Badminton 2023 LIVE updates on InsideSport.IN
Madrid Masters Highlights: PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth, Sameer Verma, Sai Praneeth, Aakarshi Kashyap advance, Treesa Jolly & Gayatri Gopichand lose in first round at Madrid Masters 2023 – Watch Highlights
Men’s Singles
- Kidambi Srikanth BEAT Sitthikom Thammasin – 21-11, 25-27, 23-21
- Sai Praneeth BEAT Jan Louda – 21-16, 18-21, 21-12
- Mithun Manjunath LOST TO Kiran George – 16-21, 14-21
- Priyanshu Rajawat BEAT Victor Svendensen – 18-21, 21-16, 21-11
- Sameer Verma vs Nhat Nguyen –
Women’s Singles
- Aakarshi Kashyap BEAT Michelle Li – 12-21, 21-15, 21-18
- Ashmitha Chaliha BEAT Leonice Huet – 21-12, 22-20
- PV Sindhu BEAT Jenjira Stadelmann – 21-10, 21-14
- Malvika Bansod BEAT Kisona Selvaduray – 21-19, 16-21, 21-9
Men’s Doubles
- Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty LOST TO Ayato Endo/Yuta Takei – Retired
Women’s Doubles
- Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand LOST TO Rena Miyaura/Ayako Sakuramoto – 18-21, 16-21
Men’s Singles
Kidambi Srikanth vs Sitthikom Thammasin
Fifth seed Kidambi Srikanth defeated Sitthikom Thammasin 21-11, 25-27, 23-21 to enter the second round. The Indian started off the contest with dominance. In quick time he closed out the first game 21-11.
In the second game, Thammasin managed to give a fight. Srikanth though entered the mid-game interval with a 11-7 lead. Thammasin was trailing even after the interval as the scores read 14-18 in Srikanth’s favour. However the Thai managed to find some momentum and reduced the deficit to 18-19.
A wide shot from Thammasin gave Srikanth two match points. The Indian however struggled to close out the match. Neck-to-neck battle ensued and Thammasin soon took a 26-25 lead. A wide shot from Srikanth helped him win the second game and the match moved to the decider.
In the decider, Srikanth made a comeback and entered the mid-game interval with 11-5 lead. Soon after the interval, Thammasin took seven straight points and clinched the lead. Another neck-to-neck battle followed. However at 15-16, Thammasin made three successive errors that took Sriknth to 19-15 lead. Thammasin reduced the deficit. However Srikanth managed to get to the match point and sealed the match with a smash.
Sai Praneeth vs Jan Louda
Sai Praneeth began the Madrid Masters campaign with a three-set win against Czech Republic’s Jan Louda. Both the players started off the match on an even note as there was not much to separate between the players. Sai Praneeth entered the interval with 11-10 lead.
After the interval, Praneeth took six straight points and went up 17-10. Louda was on the backseat and Praneeth with a drop shot sealed the first game 21-16. In the second game, Louda made a comeback as he took a 11-5 lead to enter the interval. Praneeth fought back and levelled the scores 17-17. However it was not enough as Louda took the contest into the decider.
In the decider, Praneeth dominated right from the start as he took a 5-0 lead. He carried forward the momentum thorughout the game as sealed a comfortable 21-12 win in the game and advanced to the second round.
Mithun Manjunath vs Kiran George
In an all-Indian contest, National Champion Mithun Manjunath bowed out from the first round after losing in straight games against Kiran George. Both the players fough tooth and nail right from the start. George managed to enter the interval in the first game with a slender 11-10 lead.
From 17-16, Kiran George brought forth his attacking prowess and took three straight points to get to the game point. A wide shot from Mithun Manjunath helped George clinch the first game.
In the second game, George started off with a 5-0 lead. However Manjunath fought back yet again and George managed to enter the interval with him leading 11-9. Manjunath then managed to take 14-13 lead. However George came back with eight successive points and won the contest in straight games.
Sameer Verma vs Nhat Nguyen
Sameer Verma dominated the first game completely as he clinched a 21-9 win. While another such dominance was expected in the second game, Nguyen bounced back. The Irihman took a 6-3 lead at the start and managed to enter the interval with a 11-9 lead. From 12-11, he took four straight points as his lead swell to 16-11 and he managed to win the game 21-14.
The third game was a close contest as Sameer Verma managed to eke out a 6-5 lead. The Indian however managed to take a big lead and entrered the interval 11-7. Despite challenge from Nguyen. Verma ensured he didn’t let his opposition take the lead and won the contest.
Women’s Singles
Double Olympic medallist and former world champion Sindhu made short work of Switzerland’s Jenjira Stadelmann 21-10 21-4.
Aakarshi Kashyap defeated sixth seed Michelle Li of Canada 12-21 21-15 21-18 in her first round match. Ashmita Chaliha beat Frenchwoman Leonice Huet 21-12 22-20.
Ashmita Chaliha beat Frenchwoman Leonice Huet 21-12 22-20. The women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand lost their first round contest against Japan’s Rena Miyaura and Ayako Sakuramoto.
The Indian duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag were up against Japanese pair Ayato Endo and Yuta Takei, only three days after winning a historic Swiss Open title, in their round of 32 match. The Indian pair withdrew following what looked like a knee injury to Satwiksairaj who was seen speaking to the officials and drawing their attention to his left knee. It was during the break of the first game and the Indians were trailing 9-11.
Madrid Masters Highlights: PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth, Sameer Verma, Sai Praneeth, Aakarshi Kashyap advance, Treesa Jolly & Gayatri Gopichand lose in first round at Madrid Masters 2023 – Watch Highlights
