Indian Men's Singles Shine at Taipei Open, Women's Struggle Continues

India's Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and Sankar Subramanian reached the men's singles quarterfinals at the Taipei Open. Karunakaran defeated Thailand's Kantaphon Wangcharoen, while Subramanian overcame Finland's Joakim Oldorff. Indian women's singles players faced setbacks, with Aakarshi Kashyap, Taniya Hemanth, and Anupama Upadhyaya losing their respective matches.

India's Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and Sankar Subramanian have advanced to the men's singles quarterfinals of the Taipei Open badminton tournament. Karunakaran emerged victorious over Thailand's Kantaphon Wangcharoen in a strenuous match, scoring 24-22, 23-21. Subramanian also battled his way past Finnish opponent Joakim Oldorff with a 21-12, 19-21, 21-11 win.

Elsewhere, Kiran George led after the first set against Indonesia's Yohanes Saut Marcellyno, but ultimately lost 15-21, 21-8, 21-16. The Indian women's singles contingent faced disappointment as Aakarshi Kashyap, Taniya Hemanth, and Anupama Upadhyaya were ousted from the tournament.

Kashyap was defeated by Thailand's Pornpicha Choeikeewong in straight sets, 19-21, 18-21. World No. 3 Tai Tzu Ying from Chinese Taipei overwhelmed Taniya Hemanth, winning 21-11, 21-10 in just 27 minutes. Anupama Upadhyaya lost her match to American Lauren Lam 17-21, 21-19, 21-11. Indian women's doubles pair Rituparna and Swetaparna Panda, as well as singles player Rakshitha Ramaraj, are set to compete later against strong international opponents.

(With inputs from agencies.)