Malvika Bansod’s singles campaign at the Badminton Asia Junior Championships ended in the third round but not before causing a huge upset at Suzhou, China, on Thursday.
Bansod, ranked 83rd in the world junior rankings, faced world No 1 junior player Phittayaporn Chaiwan, who even holds a ranking of 59 in the senior category. That could not deter the young Indian who held her nerves to pull off a stunning 21-18, 21-19 second round win over the Thai in 38 minutes.
Malvika, however, failed to repeat her heroics in her next girls’ singles match a few hours later and went down 14-21, 8-21 to China’s Tan Ning.
In the boys’ singles, Maisnam Meiraba also had to bite the dust in the second round after being the best-performing Indian over the last few days at this tournament.
The junior world No 14 began on a thunderous note, snatching the first game from two-time world junior champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn only to see the Thai storming back for an 18-21, 21-15, 21-8 win in 55 minutes.
Unnati Bisht was another Indian to reach the third round in girls’ singles following a 21-6, 21-10 victory over Hong Kong’s NG Tin Yan. The Indian’s campaign, however, was cut short 21-8, 21-13 in that round by the fifth seed Benyapa Aimsaard of Thailand.