Macau open: Srikanth eases into quarterfinals

Kidambi Srikanth advanced to the men’s singles quarterfinals of the Macau Open Super 300 badminton tournament with a straight-game victory over compatriot Ayush Shetty in the second round. Seeded sixth, Srikanth, who is playing his first competition since recovering from an injury sustained in May, outclassed 2023 Odisha Masters runner-up Ayush 21-13 21-18 to emerge as the lone Indian competitor in the singles event.

Srikanth, the 2021 World Championship silver medallist, will next face Hong Kong’s second seed Ng Ka Long Angus, against whom he has a 4-4 head-to-head record.

In women’s doubles, the pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand also reached the quarterfinals, securing a solid 22-20 21-11 win over Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chih-Chun and Teng Chun Hsun in just 38 minutes.

In women's singles, former world junior No. 1 Tasnim Mir put up a commendable fight against fourth seed and 2022 world junior champion Tomoka Miyazaki from Japan, stretching the match to three games before losing 17-21 21-13 10-21.