Thailand Masters: Devika stuns top seed Supanida, enters semis

Bangkok: India’s Devika Sihag pulled off a big upset at the Thailand Masters Super 300 badminton tournament, stunning home favourite and top seed Supanida Katethong in straight games to reach the women’s singles semifinals here on Friday.

The 20-year-old unseeded Indian, who claimed her maiden BWF International Challenge title at the Malaysia International last year, kept her composure to seal a 21-19 21-18 victory in the quarterfinals that lasted just 40 minutes.

The world No. 63 will face fifth seed Huang Yu-Hsun of Chinese Taipei next. Devika has been steadily building momentum on the circuit. In August 2025, she won Malaysia International, beating compatriot Isharani Baruah in the final. She was also part of the Indian mixed team that won a bronze medal at the 2025 World University Games. Last season, Devika finished runner-up at the Indonesia Masters Super 100 and reached four finals in 2024, winning titles at the Swedish Open and Portugal International, while finishing second-best at the Estonian International and Dutch International.

In another women’s singles quarterfinal, Isharani fought hard but bowed out after losing 18-21 21-16 21-13 to Malaysia’s Wong Ling Ching.

India’s challenge in the men’s singles ended at the quarterfinal stage after Tharun Mannepalli went down 11-21 17-21 to China’s Zhu Xuan Chen.