Indian Open Badminton / 20 year old Malvika beat Saina Nehwal, Nagpur player won in 34 minutes

Zoom News : Jan 13, 2022, 06:05 PM
There was a big upset in the Indian Open badminton tournament on Thursday. Malvika Bansod, 20, from Nagpur, defeated veteran player and London Olympics bronze medalist Saina Nehwal. In the women's singles second round match, Malvika defeated Saina 21-17, 21-9 in successive games. This match lasted for 34 minutes. Saina is currently at number 25 in the world rankings. Whereas Malvika's rank is 111th.

Leading after 4-4 draw in first game

At the beginning of the first game, there was a level playing field between Saina and Malavika. At one point both the players were tied at 4-4. Malvika then took the lead and held it till the end. In the second game too, both were at one point at 2-2. From here Malvika took the lead and held it till winning games and matches.

Who is Malvika Bansod?

Malvika is a rising badminton star from Maharashtra. She has won state championships at under-13 and under-17 level. In 2018, she was selected in the Indian team for the World Junior Badminton tournament. In 2018 she won the South Asian Badminton Championships in Kadmandu. In 2019 he won the All India Senior Ranking Tournament. In 2019 itself, Malvika won the title of Maldives International Future Series tournament.

Lakshya Sen and PV Sindhu advance

India's Lakshya Sen has made it to the third round of men's singles. He defeated Felix Burstad of Sweden 21-12, 21-15. In women's singles, top seed PV Sindhu defeated Ira Sharma of India 21-10, 21-0.

Came to see where I stand now: Saina

Saina Nehwal was playing her first tournament after recovering from knee and groin injuries. After the loss to Malvika, he said- I got injured in October last year. I started playing again from 27th December. Came to this tournament to see where I stand now and how much more improvement is needed.


I am glad that I was able to play two matches. However, it has to be admitted that players like Malavika, Akashi and Sindhu with poor fitness are very difficult to play against. Regarding Malvika, Saina said – She is playing well and her game is improving continuously. He is excellent at playing rally. Hopefully Malavika will continue to perform well in this tournament.

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