Daijiworld Media Network - Taipei

Taipei, May 6: India’s budding badminton stars had a tough day at the Taipei Open Super 300 tournament, as none of the singles players managed to advance past the qualification rounds on Tuesday.

Promising early wins by Manraj Singh, Raghu Mariswamy, and Mansi Singh gave hope, but all three bowed out in their second-round matches. Manraj, after a dominant 21-9 first-game win against Malaysia’s Tan Jia Jie, saw his momentum collapse in a tense 21-9, 19-21, 20-22 loss.

Raghu Mariswamy fought back in his opener against Macau’s Pui Pang Fong (14-21, 21-16, 21-14), but couldn’t replicate the form against Indonesia’s Moh Zaki Ubaidillah, losing 16-21, 17-21.

Mansi Singh had a strong start against Tsai Hsin-Pei of Chinese Taipei (22-20, 14-21, 21-17), but fell in straight games to Thailand’s Pitchamon Opatniputh in the second round (17-21, 10-21).

In other matches, Aryamann Tandon lost steam after a thrilling first game against Malaysia’s Kok Jing Hong (27-25, 10-21, 8-21), while Mithun Manjunath also faded after taking the opening game against Tan Jia Jie (21-17, 19-21, 9-21).

Among the closest women’s matches, Isharani Baruah put up a strong fight before narrowly losing to Thailand’s Pitchamon in three games (7-21, 23-21, 22-24). Ira Sharma and Shreya Lele also exited early, both losing in straight games to their respective opponents.

It was a day of missed opportunities for India, with spirited performances overshadowed by inconsistency and lack of finishing edge.