Just a few days after his German Open win, Arvind Bhat suffered was in for a shocker during the qualifying round of the India Open Super Series here at the Siri Fort Sports Complex on Tuesday. He lost to an unknown player in Ajay Kumar K.
The 34-year-old Indian was on the wrong side of 20-22, 21-23 against Ajay and the winner has now who set up a clash with World number one lee Chong Wei in the main draw. "It is my biggest win. For the first time I will be playing in the main draw of the Super Series event and I am happy with my performance," Ajay said after his match. Ajay had also beaten Deepak Khatri 21-13, 21-15 in the first round. Arvind accepted defeat saying that his opponent had won crucial parts of the game. He held on at the final important moments. I had cold and cough but it is not the reason for my loss. I think he played better," he said.
In other matches, , Shreyansh Jaiswal defeated Subhankar Dey 21-19, 14-21, 21-8, veteran Anup Sridhar, who had got a walkover in the first round, prevailed over Chetan Anand 21-14, 21-16 to reach the main draw in another men's singles match. Jaiswal will take on Brice leverdez of France in the first round while Anup will take on other qualifier Suppanyu Avihingsanon on Wednesday.In women's singles, Shruti Mundada and Mudra Dhainje also reached the main draw.