Malvika stuns Paris Olympics medallist Tunjung in China Open badminton tournament

Young Malvika Bansod pulled off a sensational straight-game victory over Paris Olympics bronze medallist Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia in the women's singles opening round to emerge as the lone Indian survivor in the China Open Super 100 badminton tournament here on Wednesday.

The 22-year-old Indian, ranked 43rd in the world, displayed immense grit as she saved a game point thrice in the opening game to defeat the world No. 7 Indonesian Tunjung, seeded fifth, 26-24 21-19 in a 46-minute match, marking the biggest win of her career.

Malvika, a B. Tech graduate in computer science from SRM University in Chennai, will next take on Scotland's Kristy Gilmour, a two-time Commonwealth Games medallist in the next round.

She was the sole Indian bright spot in the women’s singles as compatriots Aakarshi Kashyap and Samiya Imad Farooqui exited in the first round. Aakarshi lost to Chinese Taipei's Chiu Pin-Chian 15-21 19-21, while Samiya was outplayed by Gilmour 9-21 7-21 in a one-sided contest.

In other Indian results, the women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand went down 21-16 15-21 17-21 to Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Pei Shan and Hung En-Tzu.

In mixed doubles, B Sumeeth Reddy and N Sikki Reddy lost 10-21 16-21 to Malaysia’s Tan Kian Meng and Lai Pei Jing, while Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath went down 14-21 11-21 to Malaysia's Chen tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei and women's pair of Rutuparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda lost 11-21 21-16 11-21 in another close match.

In men's singles, Kiran George put up a tough fight before going down narrowly to Japan's Kenta Nishimoto 21-4 10-21 21-23 in his opening match.

A left-handed shuttler, Malvika, from Nagpur, transitioned to the senior international circuit in 2019, winning the Maldives International title and finishing runner-up at the 2022 Syed Modi International. She has been in good form this year, claiming the Azerbaijan International title.

Malvika, once coached by former India junior chief coach Sanjay Mishra, made headlines in 2022 when she defeated 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal at the India Open, breaking into the world’s top 30.

However, her progress was hampered by health issues as she contracted dengue and typhoid following her participation in the Hangzhou Asian Games last year.

After her recovery, Malvika consistently faced top-ranked players in early rounds of world tour events. Despite early exits, she managed to maintain her position in the world’s top 50. She has played close matches against the likes of world No. 1 Akane Yamaguchi and former world champion Nozomi Okuhara.

Currently training under coach Shrikant Vad at the Thane Badminton Academy, Malvika continues to push her game forward.

“This is her biggest win, and she is extremely happy. She has been performing well, but lacks experience, and sometimes luck hasn’t favoured her,” her mother Trupti told PTI.

“Sanjay sir was like a father figure to her, but once he took up his role as BAI secretary, we struggled to find a replacement.”