Orleans Masters Super 300: Rajawat stuns top seed Nishimoto, Dhruv-Arjun also reach quarterfinals

Indian youngster Priyanshu Rajawat pulled off the biggest win of his fledgling international career so far as he powered past top seed Kenta Nishimoto in the round of 16 at the Orleans Masters Super 300 event in France on Thursday.

Joining him in the quarterfinals will be men’s doubles seventh seeds Dhruv Kapila and MR Arjun who won a three-game thriller late on against Kenya Mitsuhashi and Hiroki Okamura of Japan.

There was, however, disappointment for 2022 finalist Mithun Manjunath who bowed out in straight games against Yu Jen Chi.

Later on, in mixed doubles, new pairing of Sai Pratheek and Tanisha Crasto nearly produced another big upset, having a match against seventh seeds but Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei prevailed in three thrilling games. In women’s singles, Tanya Hemanth bowed out in straight games.

Playing his first match on the BWF World Tour against a top 15 opponent, the 21-year-old Rajawat, ranked No 58 in the world, came through in straight games 21-8, 21-16 against world No 12 Nishimoto.

#OrleansMastersSuper300

Indian schedule and opponents for Thursday in Orleans.https://t.co/bi5qdM1ceR pic.twitter.com/PwPvDYsQvw— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) April 5, 2023

The Japanese star, who had won the title last week in Madrid at the Spain Masters, was off to a poor start as Rajawat raced to a...

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