Orleans Masters 2022 | Indian shuttlers start well, all eyes on B Sai Praneeth
Young Indian shuttlers gave a good account of themselves as they made a strong start at the Orleans Masters 2022, with five men's singles players winning their opening round matches. Priyanshu Rajawat, Mithun Manjunath, Chirag Sen, Kiran George and Meiraba Maisnam started with a win each.
All these shuttlers were playing their Round of 64 matches on Tuesday. While Priyanshu Rajawat defeated compatriot Shubhankar Dey 19-21, 21-13, 21-11, Kiran George got the better of Joran Kweekel of the Netherlands 21-17, 21-11. Chirag, elder brother of Lakshya Sen, beat fellow Indian Kaushal Dharmamer 21-15, 21-6 to cement his place in the Round of 32 match.
In another match, Mithun Manjunath ousted India’s Kartikey Gulshan Kumar 21-10, 21-13, in straight games. Meiraba Maisnam, who came through the qualifiers in the main round, got the better of Denmark’s Mads Christophersen 21-19, 17-21, 21-19. Meanwhile, Alap Mishra and Ansal Yadav, who also made it to the main round, lost in their opening matches.
On the other hand, the top seed, India's B Sai Praneeth, was given a by in the first round; now he will start his campaign against Czech Republic’s Jan Louda in the round of 32 on Wednesday. In the women's singles, it was a heartbreak for Ashmita Chaliha and Rituparna, as both of them lost in the first round matches.Â