Tanvi Sharma stuns Okuhara, Manraj ousts Prannoy in Syed Modi International Super 300

World Junior Championships silver medallist Tanvi Sharma and Manraj Singh produced stunning upsets at the Syed Modi International Super 300, knocking out former world champion Nozomi Okuhara and HS Prannoy respectively to sail into the quarterfinals here on Thursday.

The 16-year-old Tanvi, who had reached the US Open Super 300 final earlier this year, fought back brilliantly to shock the second seed Okuhara 13-21 21-16 21-19 in a 59-minute thriller.

“It has been a great year for me, World Juniors also I won silver. I was on a break due to an ankle injury. I never thought I will beat Okuhara, just wanted to give my best,” Tanvi told reporters.

She said her turnaround came after a quick reset mid-match.

“I did many unforced errors in the first game. My coach told me to just leave thinking about winning or losing, and play my game. Playing against a former world champion like Okuhara can be tiring, so I was exhausted but I kept myself calm and focussed on rallies. I was not under any pressure. I had to be ready for the long rallies.”

Looking ahead, the youngster said she is preparing for tougher competitions and a tighter schedule.

“After this event, I will play Guwahati and Odisha Masters. There will be pressure now but I have to keep myself calm and prepared. I meditate after matches. Now it is only going to be more difficult as I play Super 500s and higher events, so I have to be ready. I also study for two hours, so I manage it. I still have to improve a lot.”

Manraj, 19, then added to the day’s surprises with a commanding 21-15 21-18 win over Prannoy, the 2023 World Championships bronze medallist, in just 43 minutes.

“He is an experienced player and I am happy that I could beat him. I was just looking to give my best. I went with my strong point, which is attack, so wanted to attack more. This is one of my best days and I am confident I can play well in future as well,” Manraj said.

Reflecting on his journey, Manraj said, “I started playing in 2013 in Faridabad. Me and my brother used to watch my father play, from there the interest grew. Two years back, I joined the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, where I train under Sagar Chopda. There are some top-level players here, so sparring is good, facilities are good.

“This is my third Super 300 — I played at Taipei Open and Macau Open. I just want to give my best game. I will play at Guwahati and Odisha Masters.”

Top seed Unnati Hooda too booked her place in the last-eight with a commanding 21-15 21-10 win over Tasnim Mir, while Mithun Manjunath outlasted sixth seed Tharun Mannepalli 21-16 17-21 21-17 in another all-Indian second-round contest.

Unnati will face seventh seed Rakshitha Sree Santhosh Ramraj, who edged past Devika Sihag 16-21 21-19 21-17, while Mithun is set to take on Manraj, who had won Uganda International Challenge and Iran Fajr International Challenge early this year, in the quarterfinals.

Former world No.1 Kidambi Srikanth, the 2021 World Championships silver medallist, brushed aside Saneeth Dayanand 21-6 21-16 to set up a quarterfinal clash with a fit-again Priyanshu Rajawat, who overcame BM Rahul Bharadwaj 21-16 10-21 21-12 in a hard-fought encounter.

Kiran George, Alap Mishra and Siddharth Gupta, however, bowed out after losing their respective second-round matches.

In women’s singles, Isharani Baruah shocked sixth seed Polina Buhrova 21-15 21-8 to move into the quarterfinals, where she will face Turkey’s fourth seed Neslihan Arin. Tanya Hemanth and Anupama Upadhyaya, however, exited after second-round defeats.

In men’s doubles, fifth seeds Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun progressed with a 21-12 21-18 win over Malaysia’s Lau Yi Sheng and Lim Tze Jian.

Defending champions Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand eased into the women’s doubles quarterfinals with a 21-17 21-12 win over compatriots Zenith Abbigail and Likhita Srivastava.

Hariharan and Treesa also entered the mixed doubles quarterfinals, as did the pair of Nithin HV and Srinidhi Narayanan.