Malvika Bansod reached the quarterfinals of the Hylo Open after she beat world no. 18, Kirsty Gilmour, in straight games here on Thursday.
World no. 39, Malvika is India’s third-highest-ranked shuttler in women’s singles behind world no. 6 P.V. Sindhu and world no. 31 Saina Nehwal.
In the first game, after trailing initially 8-13, Malvika pulled her socks up and went on to win 24-22 against Gilmour.
Going into the second game, the 21-year-old looked unstoppable as she sealed the contest 19-7 and cruised into the quarterfinals after Gilmour retired hurt.
This is Malvika’s second win over a higher-ranked shuttler. In January, at the India Open, she beat Saina Nehwal but lost to P.V. Sindhu in the final.
In a men’s doubles match, Krishna Prasad-Vishnuvardhan Goud made a pre-quarterfinals exit after they lost to Denmark’s Kim Astrup-Anders Rasmussen 21-17, 21-13.
