Badminton News: Indians Sameer Verma, Kiran George and Ashmita Chaliha put up an impressive performance in the qualifying round of the Thailand Open World Tour Super 500 badminton tournament in Bangkok as they secured a two-game straight win over their respective opponents to advance to the main singles sector chart.

Former world number 11 Sameer Verma, who recently won the Slovenia Open, continued his comeback with a comfortable 21-12, 21-17 victory over Malaysia’s Yeoh Seng Zoe.

Sameer was eliminated in the previous round against Indonesian Christian Adinata and Spaniard Luis Enrique Penalver. He will now face Denmark’s Magnus Johannesen in the first round of the main draw at the 2023 Thailand Open.

Kiran George, winner of the Odisha Open 2022, put in an outstanding performance beating fellow Indian Kartikey Gulshan Kumar 21-14, 21-18, followed by a convincing 21-10, 21-14 win over Jeon Hyeok Jin from Korea. In the main round, Kiran will face Chinese third seed Shi Yuqi.

In the women’s singles category, Ashmita Chaliha, who secured a spot in the individual events at the upcoming Asian Games, beat Unnati Hooda 21-16, 13-21, 21-19 in a close encounter.

She then beat Estonian Kristin Kuuba 21-19, 21-11. Ashmita will now face compatriot Malvika Bansod, who has been promoted to the main draw.

Among others, Olympian B Sai Praneeth and national champion Mithun Manjunath have been promoted to the main draw and will meet Frenchman Christo Popov and second seed Thai Kunlavut Vitidsarn respectively.

Article Tags: Sameer Verma, Thailand Open 2023