Rising Indian men’s doubles duo M.R. Arjun-Dhruv Kapila will look to seal their place in the quarterfinal of Orleans Masters, a Super 300 badminton tournament, in France on Thursday when they face Kenya Mitsuhashi and Hiroki Okamura of Japan.
The world no. 54 Arjun-Dhruv won their first-round match in straight games.
In men’s singles, emerging shuttler Priyanshu Rajawat will face his biggest challenge today as the world no. 78 Indian shuttler goes up against top seed Kenta Nishimoto in the pre-quarterfinal.
Rajawat defeated countryman Kiron George in straight games in the opening round.
Mithun Manjunath, the world no 54, who put up a superlative performance against higher-ranked Viktor Svendsen, will look to seal his place in the quarterfinal as he takes on unheralded Chinese player Chi Yu Jen.
Tanya Hemanth, the only Indian who remains in the fray in women’s singles, has her work cut out against Japanese Natsuki Nidaira, the Asian Team Championship bronze medallist.
Hemanth, ranked 61st in the world, won her first-round match in straight games against LeOnice Huet.
In women’s doubles, veteran Ashwini Ponnappa will pair up with Tanisha Crasto as they confront LI Yi Jing and Luo Xu Min of China.
Tanisha will also be up for a place in the mixed doubles quarterfinal when she partners Sai Pratheek against Chen Tang Jie and Toh Eei Wei of Malaysia.
Indians in action today:
Kenta Nishimoto vs Priyanshu Rajawat – 2 PM IST
Chi Yu Jen vs Mithun Manjunath – 2:40 PM
Sai Pratheek-Tanisha Crasto vs Chen Tang Jie-Toh Eei Wei 3 PM IST
Tanya Hemanth vs Natsuki Nidaira – 3:20 PM IST
LI Yi Jing-Luo Xu Min vs Tanisha Crasto-Ashwini Ponnappa 7:20 PM IST
Kenya Mitsuhashi-Hiroki Okamura vs M.R. Arjun-Dhruv Kapila 8 PM IST
The live streaming of the Orleans Masters 2023 is available on BWF TV, the official YouTube channel of the Badminton World Federation.
