Tasnim stuns top seed to enter quarters at Dutch Junior International badminton tournament; Treesa, Rohan exit

Rising India shuttler Tasnim Mir pulled off a sensational victory against top-seeded Benyapa Aimsaard to enter the women's singles quarter-finals at Dutch Junior International Tournament in Haarlem, Netherlands.

Gujarat girl Tasnim, who won the gold medal at the Asia Junior Badminton Championships and Dubai International last year, put up a brilliant effort in the decider to outclass World No. 132 Aimsaard of Thailand 21-9, 17-21, 21-15 in a thrilling three-setter last -16 match which lasted for 45 minutes. Interestingly Aimsaard came into this match without losing a single game in the ongoing tournament.

India No. 1 Tasnim will now face Aisha Galuh Maheswari of Indonesia in the last-8 match. 12th seeded Aisha overcame Kerala's Treesa Jolly 21-17, 21-7.

Meanwhile in the men’s singles last-16 match, Nagpur teenager Rohan Gurbani put up a gritty performance before going down fighting against Russian Georgii Lebedev. After taking a 1-0 lead, the Indian could not hold his nerves as the opponent grabbed the next two hard-fought games to complete a 18-21, 21-19, 21-18 win.

Earlier in the mixed doubles, both the Indian pair suffered defeats during their third round matches. While Sankar Prasad Udayakumar and Treesa Jolly went down 21-19, 21-17 against Korean pair of Hak Joo Lee and A Yeon Yoo, Edwin Joy and Shruti Mishra also suffered a 21-19, 23-21 loss against another Korean duo Jae Hyeon Kim and Bo Eun Koo in hard fought match.

Results:

(Women’s singles) 11-Tasnim Mir bt 1-Benyapa Aimsaard (Thailand) 21-9, 17-21, 21-15; Treesa Jolly lost to Aisha Galuh Maheswari (Indonesia) 21-17, 21-7.

(Men singles) Rohan Gurbani lost to Georgii Lebedev (Russia) 18-21, 21-19, 21-18.

(Mixed doubles) Sankar Prasad Udayakumar/Treesa Jolly lost to Hak Joo Lee/A Yeon Yoo (Korea) 21-19, 21-17; Edwin Joy/Shruti Mishra lost to Jae Hyeon Kim/Bo Eun Koo (Korea) 21-19, 23-21.