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India's young brigade lit up the opening day of the main draw at the Odisha Masters with a series of impressive wins and major upsets, headlined by Rounak Chouhan, Isharani Baruah and Tasnim Mir. Top performers Unnati Hooda, Tanvi Sharma, Kiran George also moved confidently into the next round, as per a release.
Rounak Chouhan, part of India's historic World Junior Championships medal-winning squad, produced one of the biggest results of the day by defeating Syed Modi title winner Jason Gunawan in a gripping 64-minute R32 battle. After dropping the opening game 15-21, the Indian youngster fought back brilliantly to outplay the third seed from Hong Kong China 21-17, 21-19. Rounak will now face fellow Indian Varun Kapur, who defeated Bharath Latheesh of the UAE 21-16, 16-21, 21-19 in 56 minutes. Top-seeded men's singles players Tharun Mannepalli and Kiran George received byes in the R64. Tharun cruised into the pre-quarters with a commanding 21-5, 21-8 win over Manav Choudhary in just 27 minutes and will next meet compatriot Govind Krishna, who beat Kavin Thangam 21-12, 19-21, 21-15. Second seed Kiran George also advanced with a 21-12, 21-13 victory over Rajesh Srikar and will face Indonesia's Dendi Triansyah in the next round. In the women's singles draw, Isharani Baruah delivered the biggest upset of the day, outplaying second seed Pornpicha Choeikeewong of Thailand 21-15, 21-8 in a dominant 32-minute performance. The 21-year-old from Assam later received a walkover in the R16, securing her place in the quarterfinals. Top seed Unnati Hooda began her campaign defeating UAE's Prakriti Bharath 21-12, 21-18 in 32 minutes. She will meet Tidapron Kleebyeesun of Thailand in the pre-quarters after the Thai shuttler defeated Stefani Stoeva of Bulgaria 21-16, 21-15. Third seed Tanvi Sharma also progressed with a 21-8, 17-21, 21-18 win over Japan's Anna Iwaki and will next face fellow Indian Aditi Bhatt, who edged out Liang Ka Wing 21-19, 24-22, as per a release. Tasnim Mir added to India's list of upsets by defeating fourth seed Rakshitha Sree. After losing the opening game 17-21, Tasnim bounced back strongly to take the next two 21-17, 21-13 and seal her place in the pre-quarters. Arctic Open semifinalist Anmol Kharb also advanced, overcoming Thailand's Yataweemin Ketklieng in a tense 1 hour 8 minute showdown. After dropping the first game 17-21, Anmol recovered to claim the second 21-19 and edged out the decider 23-21. She will face Japan's Shiori Ebihara in the next round. As action continues on Day 2 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Cuttack, India's contingent has made a strong start with several promising line-ups for the upcoming rounds in the race for the coveted title. (ANI)
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