Anupama stuns Zhang to enter second round

India’s Anupama Upadhyaya recorded a stunning win over world No. 15 American Beiwen Zhang to progress to the women’s singles second round at the China Masters Super 750 tournament.

The 19-year-old from Almora, ranked No. 50, showed great composure to outsmart Zhang 21-17 8-21 22-20 in a 48-minute contest. It will be her first second-round appearance in a BWF Super 750 event. Anupama will face Japan’s Natsuki Nidaira in the next round.

India’s B Sumeeth Reddy and N Sikki Reddy advanced to the mixed doubles second round. The husband-wife duo beat the American pair of Presley Smith and Jennie Gai 23-21 17-21 21-17. The duo will next take on the top-seeded Chinese pair of Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping.

However, the day proved disappointing for Priyanshu Rajawat and Aakarshi Kashyap. World No. 34 Rajawat went down 24-22 13-21 18-21 to world No. 32 Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo in the men’s singles. In women’s singles, Kashyap was no match for world No. 14 Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan, losing 10-21 18-21.