Badminton News: Hylo Open update - Kidambi Srikanth outlasts Arnaud Merkle in pre-quarterfinals

He defeated France's Arnaud Merkle 11-21, 21- 13, 21-10 in 50 minutes. The 43rd-ranked Merkle took a 15-10 lead in the first game. After that, he only conceded one point and won the game 21-11 after scoring six consecutive points.

In the second game, Kidambi Srikanth secured five points on the trot. He extended his lead from 9-4 to 11-4, later reading 13-4 after the interval. 

Arnaud Merkle challenged Kidambi Srikanth in long rallies and narrowed his deficit to 10-14. However, the Indian blocked his opponent's attacks and levelled the scoreline at 21-13.

Kidambi Srikanth quickly jumped to a 6-2 lead in the third game, and despite multiple efforts by Arnaud Merkle, the former Indian world number one led 11-6 at the interval and ultimately won the game 21-10. 

In the pre-quarterfinals, Kidambi Srikanth outclassed China's Lu Guang Zu in a similar three-game match 15-21, 21-14, 21-13.

Satwik-Chirag nails three-game thriller 

The Indian duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won a hard-fought three-game thriller against England's Rory Easton and Zach Russ in one hour and two minutes. 

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, the recent winners of the French Open Super 750 title, lost the first game 22-24. However, they bounced back and won the next two games. 

The world number eight pairing registered a 21-15 second game win, and in the third one, they thrashed their opponents with a 21-11 victory to advance to the quarterfinals. 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="de" dir="ltr">Hylo Open: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty Storm Into Hylo Open Quarterfinals <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HyloOpen2022?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HyloOpen2022</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/chiragsatwik?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#chiragsatwik</a><a href="https://t.co/OETdinUJdJ">https://t.co/OETdinUJdJ</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/sportisthan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SPORTISTHAN</a></p>&mdash; Sportisthan (@sportisthan) <a href="https://twitter.com/sportisthan/status/1588379457697771520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 4, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Meanwhile, Vishnu Vardhan Goud and Krishna Prasad Garaga succumbed to Denmark's Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup 21-17, 21-13 in the men's doubles round of 16 matches. 

Malvika Bansod entered the quarterfinals after besting the world's number 18

Rising star Malvika Bansod edged past world number 18, Kirsty Gilmour, in straight games on Thursday. The Indian is currently ranked 39th, right after world number six P.V. Sindhu and the world's number 31 Saina Nehwal.

Malvika Bansod, trailing the first set by 8-13, persevered and turned the scorecard in her favour. 

After securing the first game by 24-22, the 21-year-old eased into a 19-7 victory after Gilmour retired due to an injury. The victory marks her second-ever win over a higher-ranked shuttler. 

She defeated compatriot Saina Nehwal at the India Open in January but lost the summit clash to P.V. Sindhu in the final. Elsewhere, Aakarshi Kashyap lost in straight games 21-13, 21-14 defeat to Denmark's Line Kjaersfeldt in the women's singles pre-quarterfinals. 

In women's doubles, Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly advanced to the quarterfinals with a 21-18, 21-19 win over Debora Jille and Cheryl Seinen of the Netherlands.

However, Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda crashed out of the round of 16 after losing to Chinese Taipei's Hu Ling Fang and Lin Xiao Min 21-16, 21-7.