NEW DELHI: Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian, a 21-year-old Indian badminton player from Tamil Nadu, caused a major upset by defeating world no. 2 Anders Antonsen of Denmark in a thrilling three-game contest at the Swiss Open Super 300 tournament. With the win, he has now entered the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Subramanian, currently ranked 64th in the world and a silver medallist at the 2022 World Junior Championships, showcased an impressive display of defence to overcome the three-time World Championships medalist with a score of 18-21, 21-12, 21-5 in a 66-minute match.
In the women’s doubles event, the Indian pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand advanced to the semifinals with a clinical 21-18, 21-14 win over Hong Kong’s Pui Lam Yeung and Nga Ting Yeung.
The Indian duo maintained control throughout the match, except for a brief period when their opponents levelled the score at 15-15 in the first set.
Subramanian’s victory over Antonsen is considered one of the biggest wins of his career and a confidence booster as he transitions into the senior ranks.
In the quarterfinals, he will face world no. 31 Christo Popov of France, a 2019 World Junior Championships silver medalist who had a strong 2024 campaign, claiming titles at the German and Hylo Opens.
Among other Indian players, Isharani Baruah put up a valiant fight but lost 19-21, 21-18, 18-21 to China’s Han Qian Xi, while Anupama Upadhyaya was ousted by Indonesia’s world no. 11 Putri Kusuma Wardani with a score of 17-21, 19-21.
The mixed doubles pair of Sathish Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath also had a tough outing, going down 14-21, 16-21 to Liu Kuang Heng and Jheng Yu Chieh.
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