Badminton, Malaysia Masters Super 500: Ashmita Chaliha upsets world No 10; PV Sindhu advances
PV Sindhu will face Han Yue of China in the quarter-finals.
India’s Ashmita Chaliha registered a shock victory over world No 10 Beiwen Zhang of the United States to advance to the women’s singles quarter-finals of the 2024 Malaysia Masters Super 500 on Thursday.
Chaliha, ranked 53rd in the world, prevailed 21-19, 16-21, 21-12 over the third seeded Zhang in a 43-minute long encounter at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur.
The Indian got off to a good start in the contest as she raced to an 8-4 lead in the first game, before Zhang levelled things up at 10-10. Chaliha, however, had the edge heading into the mid-game interval as the American pushed a shuttle wide.
Though the vastly experienced Zhang put up a good fight, Chaliha maintained her composure to win it 21-19 without any issues.
The second game saw the left-handed Indian struggle from the other end of the court as she trailed 8-11 at the mid-game interval before Zhang asserted her dominance to pocket it 21-16 to force a decider.
The 24-year-old from Assam, however, completely outplayed her opponent in the third game as she raced to an 11-4 lead before the change of sides. Though Zhang put up a much better display in the latter stages of the decider, the early advantage for Chaliha meant that...