French Open Badminton: Unnati Hooda advances to pre-quarters; Ayush Shetty makes early exit

Paris, Oct 22 Rising Indian shuttler Unnati Hooda continued her impressive run on the international circuit, advancing to the pre-quarterfinals of the French Open Super 750 badminton tournament in Cesson-Sevigne on Wednesday. The 18-year-old displayed grit and composure as she came from behind to defeat Malaysia’s Letshanaa Karupathevan 11-21, 21-13, 21-16 in her opening women’s singles round.

After dropping the first game, Hooda regrouped quickly, showing remarkable control and confidence in the rallies. She dominated the next two games with a mix of sharp net play and precise smashes to seal her place in the round of 16.

The youngster, who has been one of India’s most promising talents in recent months, will look to maintain her momentum as the competition intensifies.

However, it was a contrasting day for Ayush Shetty, who fell just short in his opening-round men’s singles clash. The Indian shuttler fought hard but went down 19-21, 19-21 to Japan’s experienced Koki Watanabe in a closely contested battle. Despite showing flashes of brilliance, Shetty could not convert the crucial points in either game.

Among other Indian women’s singles players, Anupama Upadhyaya and Anmol Kharb both bowed out in the opening round. Anupama lost 15-21, 11-21 to China’s Han Yue, while Kharb was outplayed 15-21, 9-21 by South Korea’s top seed and world No. 1, An Se-young.

Earlier, on Tuesday, India’s Lakshya Sen made a disappointing early exit, going down in straight games to Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen in the men’s singles opening round.

The World No. 16 looked out of rhythm throughout the contest and was beaten 7-21, 16-21 by the 29th-ranked Nhat, who avenged his loss to the Indian at the Denmark Open just last week.

Later in the day, India’s top men’s doubles pair, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, are scheduled to begin their campaign. The Indian duo will take on Indonesia’s Rahmat Hidayat and Muhammad Rian Ardianto in their round-of-32 match as they aim to make a deep run in the tournament.

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