Senior National Badminton Championship 2023: Kiran George stuns top seed Prannoy in second round

Meanwhile, second-seeded Srikanth Kidambi also struggled before beating Manipur’s Maisnam Meiraba 21-19, 18-21, 21-17.

Kiran George in action during his second-round win over top-seeded H S Prannoy at the 84th Senior National Badminton Tournament in Pune on Saturday

Kiran George ended the challenger of top seed HS Prannoy in straight games in second round of the 84th Senior National Badminton Tournament in Pune on Saturday.

George scripted a 21-12, 21-15 win over World No.9 Prannoy to move to the third round.

Second seed Kidambi Srikanth struggled before beating Manipur’s Maisnam Meiraba 21-19, 18-21, 21-17.

In the women’s singles, all eyes were on Tanya Hemanth, who had won the title in the 31st Iran Fajr International Challenge in Tehran, earlier this month. She started well with an 11-7 lead in the first game against Aakarshi Kashyap but Kashyap soon got the momentum and put Tanya in a tight corner with a 14-12 lead. Both fought bravely for each and every point, and Tanya somehow managed to grab the first game 23-21.

The second game saw Aakarshi enjoy an early 12-6 lead but again, Tanya peddled hard and levelled the scores 16-16 and later on 20-20. The pressure was mounting, and both players missed a game point, but in the end, it was Aakarshi who sealed it with a 22-20 score. Aakarshi kept a comfortable lead throughout the third game and entered the third round with a 21-17 win.

In other matches, Aditi Bhatt knocked out seventh seed Saad Dharmadhikari 21-11, 21-5, while 14th seed Deepshikha Singh went down to Surya Charishma Tamiri 14-21, 21-10, 11-21.

The eighth-seeded Aashi Rawat also suffered an early exit. Ira Sharma scripted a 21-14, 21-19 win over her higher-ranked opponent. Bhavya Rishi defeated 12th seed Deepshika Neredimelli 21-8, 13-21, 21-14.