India shuttler Tasnim Mir pulled off a sensational victory against top-seeded Benyapa Aimsaard to enter women singles quarter-finals at Dutch Junior International Tournament in Haarlem, Netherlands, on Saturday.
Gujarat girl Tasnim, who won the gold medal at the Asia Junior Badminton Championships and Dubai International last year, put up a brilliant effort in the decider to defeat World No 132 Aimsaard of Thailand 21-9 17-21 21-15 in a thrilling three-setter last-16 match that lasted for 45 minutes. Interestingly Aimsaard came into this match without losing a single game in the ongoing tournament.
India No 1 Tasnim will now face the winner of the clash between compatriot Treesa Jolly and Aisha Galuh Maheswari of Indonesia in the last-eight match.
Meanwhile, in the men’s singles last-16 match, Nagpur teenager Rohan Gurbani put up a gritty performance before going down fighting against Russian Georgii Lebedev. After taking a 1-0 lead, the Indian could not hold his nerves as the opponent grabbed the next two hard-fought games to complete an 18-21 21-19 21-18 win.
Earlier in the mixed doubles, both the Indian pair suffered defeats during their third-round matches. While Sankar Prasad Udayakumar and Treesa Jolly went down 21-19 21-17 against Korean pair of Hak Joo Lee and A Yeon Yoo, Edwin Joy, and Shruti Mishra also suffered a 21-19 23-21 loss against another Korean duo Jae Hyeon Kim and Bo Eun Koo in a hard-fought match.
Results:
(Women’s singles) 11-Tasnim Mir bt 1-Benyapa Aimsaard (Thailand) 21-9, 17-21, 21-15.
(Men singles) Rohan Gurbani lost to Georgii Lebedev (Russia) 18-21, 21-19, 21-18.
(Mixed doubles) Sankar Prasad Udayakumar/Treesa Jolly lost to Hak Joo Lee/A Yeon Yoo (Korea) 21-19, 21-17; Edwin Joy/Shruti Mishra lost to Jae Hyeon Kim/Bo Eun Koo (Korea) 21-19, 23-21.