AMN

Indian badminton player Priyanshu Rajawat stunned top seed Kenta Nishimoto of Japan to advance into the quarter-finals of the men’s singles competition at the Orleans Master 2023 in France yesterday.

Priyanshu Rajawat defeated world No.12 Kenta Nishimoto 21-8, 21-16 in the second round to seal a place in the last eight of the BWF Super 300 badminton tournament.

In the mixed doubles, the Indian pair of Sai Pratheek and Tanisha Crasto lost 23-21, 17-21, 21-23 to Malaysia’s Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei in a hard-fought match.

Later in the day, Tanya Hemnath lost 21-8, 21-17 to Japan’s Natsuki Nidaira, drawing a close to India’s challenge in the women’s singles competition. Saina Nehwal had crashed out yesterday after a first-round loss to Turkey’s Nesilhan Yigit.

Meanwhile, India’s Men’s Doubles pair MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila defeated Japan’s Kenya Mitsuhashi and Hiroki Okamura 21-15, 17-21, 21-16 in the second round of Orleans Masters 2023.