Malvika Bansod beats higher-ranked Kristy Gilmour, advances to quarterfinals of China Open Super 1000

Hyderabad: Indian badminton player Malvika Bansod’s fine form continued as she beat another higher ranked player in the ongoing China Open Super 1000 tournament on Thursday.

Malvika Bansod beat Scotland’s Scotland’s Kristy Gilmour 21-17, 19-21, 21-16 in one hour and five minutes in the second round. The Nagpur-based shuttler got the better of Paris Olympics 2024 bronze medalist Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in the opening round.

With two wins, Malvika is now in her maiden quarterfinal of a Super 1000 tournament. The Indian will meet fourth seed and two-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the last eight.

Ranked 43rd in the world, Malvika won the first game but suffered a setback in the second as the 25th-ranked Gilmour drew level. However, the Indian kept her cool to stave off a stiff challenge from the Scottish player, a two-time Commonwealth Games medalist, to emerge victorious.

This isn’t the first time Malvika has beat Gilmour. The players have met four times on the BWF circuit, before this match, and they have won two matches a piece. Now, Malvika leads 3-2 in the head-to-head.

Speaking to reporters after the match, Malvika said the quarterfinal appearance is the biggest achievement of her life so far. “This is the first time I will play a quarterfinal of a Super 1000 tournament so it is a dream come true and the biggest achievement of my life so far. I dreamt about this before the tournament, how would it be if I reached the quarters, and now I’m in the top-eight, so it’s a great feeling,” Malvika said after the match.

Malvika lost the second game and said there was a lot of drift, which was a tad uncontrollable. “There is a lot of drift from this part so I found it difficult to control in the last parts of the last game and second game as well. But I’m glad God helped me,” she said.

Malvika and Yamaguchi have met two times on the international arena so far and the Japanese has won both the matches, although Malvika had come close to a win. However, the Indian doesn’t want to think about the past and hopes to give her best on Friday when she meets Yamaguchi in the quarterfinal. “I hope for the best. I am in good form. Let us see how it goes tomorrow (Friday). I will give my best,” she concluded.