Ashwini Ponnappa-Tanisha Crasto progress to Round of 16 at Odisha Masters 2023

Cuttack (Odisha) [India], December 13 (ANI): The second day of the Odisha Masters 2023 saw ace shuttlers Ashwini Ponnappa, Tanisha Crasto, Unnati Hooda, Kiran George among several others in action on Wednesday. The tournament is being held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Cuttack.
In a high-intensity fixture of the Women's Doubles category, the duo of Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto who are coming here on the back of securing their second Super 100 title with a straight-game win over Chinese Taipei's Sung Shuo Yun and Yu Chien Hui at the Guwahati Masters and also reaching career-high 24 in BWF World Rankings were up against UAE's Aleena Qathun and Nayonika Rajesh.
In the first set, the Indian pair showed aggression and took an 11-4 lead, as per a press release from Sports Odisha.
Ashwini stayed composed, while Tanisha brought out variations in her shots to close the first set. The Indian pair won the first set of the match with a score of 21-7.
The Indian duo faced resistance in the second set of the game as Qathun and Rajesh led a fightback and drew parity at 8-8. The Indian pair again had an 11-8 lead which surged to 17-11 in a quick span of time with Ashwini showing her experience and Tanisha smashing it hard making it unplayable for the UAE pair. Finally, the Indian pair won the match.
Coming to the Women's Doubles fixtures, Palak Arora and Unnati Hooda were up against Simran Singhi and Ritika Thaker. In the first set, Simran and Ritika outplayed their opponents and won by 21-7. In the second set, Simran and Ritika secured the win and progressed into the next round with a score of 21-13.
In the first match of the day, the pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Rohan Kapoor were up against Ting Shih Wee Owen and Gan Jing Err (Malaysia). The Indian duo emerged winners with a score of 21-19 and 21-15. Wen Chi Hsu of Chinese Taipei, who is seeded Number 1 in the Women's Singles defeated Wiktoria Dabczynska of Poland with a score of 21-14, 21-14.
Young Indian badminton talent and defending champion from last edition Unnati Hooda was up against Uganda's Husina Kobugabe in the Women's Singles fixture. Unnati won her match by 21-10 and 21-8.
In the Men's Singles, Chirag Sen won his match against Saneeth Dayanand Shimoga by 21-12, 21-9.
Men's Singles defending Champion Kiran George, seeded 2, was up against Satish Kumar. Kiran won the game 21-12, 10-21, and 21-12 to progress to the next round. (ANI)