Malvika stuns Paris Olympics medallist Tunjung in China Open badminton tournament

Young Malvika Bansod pulled off a sensational straight-game victory over Paris Olympics bronze medallist Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia in women's singles opening round to emerge as lone Indian survivor in China Open Super 100 bminton tournament here on Wednesday.

22-year-old Indian, ranked 43rd in world, displayed immense grit as she saved a game point thrice in opening game to defeat world No. 7 Indonesian Tunjung, seeded fifth, 26-24 21-19 in a 46-minute match, marking biggest win of her career.

Malvika, a B. Tech gruate in computer science from SRM University in Chennai, will next take on Scotland's Kristy Gilmour, a two-time Commonwealth Games medallist in next round.

She was sole Indian bright spot in women’s singles as compatriots Aakarshi Kashyap and Samiya Im Farooqui exited in first round. Aakarshi lost to Chinese Taipei's Chiu Pin-Chian 15-21 19-21, while Samiya was outplayed by Gilmour 9-21 7-21 in a one-sided contest.

In or Indian results, women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand went down 21-16 15-21 17-21 to Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Pei Shan and Hung En-Tzu.

In mixed doubles, B Sumeeth Reddy and N Sikki Reddy lost 10-21 16-21 to Malaysia’s Tan Kian Meng and Lai Pei Jing, while Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and Aya Variyath went down 14-21 11-21 to Malaysia's Chen tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei and women's pair of Rutuparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda lost 11-21 21-16 11-21 in anor close match.

In men's singles, Kiran George put up a tough fight before going down narrowly to Japan's Kenta Nishimoto 21-4 10-21 21-23 in his opening match.

A left-handed shuttler, Malvika, from Nagpur, transitioned to senior international circuit in 2019, winning Maldives International title and finishing runner-up at 2022 Syed Modi International. She has been in good form this year, claiming Azerbaijan International title.

Malvika, once coached by former India junior chief coach Sanjay Mishra, me helines in 2022 when she defeated 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal at India Open, breaking into world’s top 30.

However, her progress was hampered by health issues as she contracted dengue and typhoid following her participation in Hangzhou Asian Games last year.

After her recovery, Malvika consistently faced top-ranked players in early rounds of world tour events. Despite early exits, she managed to maintain her position in world’s top 50. She has played close matches against likes of world No. 1 Akane Yamaguchi and former world champion Nozomi Okuhara.

Currently training under coach Shrikant V at Thane Bminton Acemy, Malvika continues to push her game forward.

“This is her biggest win, and she is extremely happy. She has been performing well, but lacks experience, and sometimes luck hasn’t favoured her,” her mor Trupti told PTI.

“Sanjay sir was like a far figure to her, but once he took up his role as BAI secretary, we struggled to find a replacement.”