Orleans: India's 19-year-old Ayush Shetty caused a sensation in the men's singles section of the Orleans Masters badminton championship with a straight games victory over former World Champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in a Round of 32 match here on Wednesday. Ayush, the talented youngster from Karnataka, defeated Loh Kean Yew, who won the BWF World Championship in 2021, 21-17, 21-9 in a 36-minute clash in the BWF World Tour Super 300 event at the Palais des Sports here.
It was a mixed day for India the experienced H.S. Prannoy made a winning start, beating World No. 24 Wang Tzu Wei of Chinese Taipei in three games. Prannoy, the hero of India's triumph in the Thomas Cup in 2022, won 21-11, 20-22, 21-9 in a 60-minute encounter. Fellow Indian Kiran George went down to Jia Heng Jason Teh of Singapore in three games, 21-15, 16-21, 10-21, in just over an hour in another Round of 32 clash on Court 3.
In women's singles, Malvika Bansod retired with an injury trailing 6-21, 5-21 in her first-round match, while Unnati Hooda fell at the first hurdle, losing to top-seed and World No.1 An Se Young of South Korea, 9-21, 15-21. IANS
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