Macau Open: Unheralded Indian K Srikanth shocks 9th seed

India’s K Srikanth sprang a major surprise, spiking the guns of ninth seed and world number 34 Alamsyah Yunus of Indonesia 21-10, 21-18 to storm into the second round of the Macau Open Badminton Championship.

The 108th ranked Indian, who trains at the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad, made a mockery of the rankings, getting off the blocks on an aggressive note, unsettling the much fancied Indonesian on both flanks as well as foxing him with well-camouflaged drops.

Srikanth at one stage won seven consecutive points and racked up as many as 21 winners to take the opening game at 21-10.

Pushed to summon desperate measure, Yunus tried his best to stay in the contest in the second game but was up against an opponent who was more than keen to write an upset chapter for the day.

The 19-year-old closed out the second game at 21-18 in a contest that lasted 43 minutes.

Meanwhile, three Indians – Parupalli Kashyap, Sourabh Varma and RMV Gurusaidutt are seeded 6th, 10th and 12th respectively in the tournament.

In the women’s section, the Indian challenge will be spearheaded by Arundhati Pantawane and Tanvi Lad, both of whom clashed in the recent Bahrain Open final.