China Open 2024: Malvika Bansod loses to Akane Yamaguchi in quarters
India’s Malvika Bansod lost to Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 10-21, 16-21 in the China Open quarterfinal on Friday.
Published : Sep 20, 2024 10:37 IST , Chennai - 1 MIN READ
Malvika Bansod in action. | Photo Credit: PTI
India’s Malvika Bansod lost to Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 10-21, 16-21 in the China Open quarterfinal on Friday.
The Japanese shuttler, ranked eighth in the world, dominated the match against the lower-ranked Indian with a straight game victory in 35 minutes.
This was the third successive loss for Bansod against Yamaguchi, the former world No. 1.
The Nagpur shuttler was no match for Yamaguchi in the opening game as the Japanese took a massive eight-point lead at 12-4 before closing out the game at 21-10.
The second game was a more even affair with the Indian going neck-and-neck till 15-all before Yamaguchi showed her class to leave Bansod stranded.
Bansod, ranked 43rd, became the third Indian woman after PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal to reach a Super 1000 quarterfinal when she defeated Kristy Gilmour 21-17, 19-21, 21-16 on Thursday.
Earlier, the 22-year-old defeated Paris Olympics bronze medallist Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia.
(With inputs from PTI)