Australian Open Badminton: 14-year-old Anwesha Gowda sails into second round

Sydney [Australia], November 16 (ANI): Anwesha Gowda, a young Indian badminton player, advanced to the second round of the Australian Open 2022 women's singles competition on Wednesday at the State Sports Centre in Sydney.
Anwesha Gowda, who is ranked eighth among junior players worldwide, defeated Pitchaya Elysia Viravong Australia, in the BWF Super 300 tournament's opening round in 21 minutes 21-9, 21-11.
Anwesha Gowda has had a standout 2022 season thus far, winning four junior BWF championships and making it to the final of two tournaments as per the Olympics website.
The second-round opponent for the Indian, Goh Jin Wei of Malaysia, is the reigning champion of the Youth Olympic Games from 2018. Tanya Hemanth, 19, was defeated by Goh Jin Wei in her first-round match by scores of 21-15, 21-16.
The only Indian challenge at the Australian Open now is Anwesha Gowda. Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda were defeated by Chinese Taipei's Lee Chia Hsin and Teng Chun Hsun 16-21, 14-21 in the women's doubles match.
Simran Singhi and Ritika Thaker of the women's doubles team and Indian badminton player Sameer Verma withdrew from the competition prior to the Sydney meet's opening matches.
PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen, both Commonwealth Games champions, withdrew from the BWF Super 300 competition earlier because of their fitness. Lakshya Sen was not there because of a throat infection, while PV Sindhu was absent due to an ankle ailment.
The season-ending BWF World Tour Finals 2022, which begin on December 14 in Guangzhou, China, will not feature Indian badminton star, PV Sindhu.
The Indian badminton star was supposed to heal before the BWF World Tour Finals, which marks the end of the season, but she has fallen behind schedule. Her withdrawal has already been communicated to the Badminton Association of India (BAI). (ANI)