The highest ranked player in the 2015 Vietnam Open is Indonesia’s Tommy Sugiarto, who is expectedly through to the quarterfinals. The BWF tournament at Ho Chi Minh City falls under the second-tier Grand Prix category and that is the reason why top stars have given it a skip. India’s Ajay Jayaram was seeded fourth but he has already crashed out in the second round. Two other Indians no.5 seeded B Sai Praneeth and no.13 seeded RMV Gurusaidutt have also exited the tournament. However, there is still hope for India as Sameer Verma and qualifier Shreyansh Jaiswal have eased into the third round. And since Verma and Jaiswal are pitted against each other, one Indian is certain to reach the quarterfinals. In women’s draw, Thailand’s Busanan Ongbumrungpan is the top seed and Saili Rane featured as the lone Indian. But Rane didn’t show up in her first round match and yielded a walk-over to her Thai opponent Chochuwong Pornpawee. In mixed doubles, however, the Indian duo of Arun Vishnu/Aparna Balan entered the second round by defeating Indonesia’s Hendra Aprida Gunawan and Shendy Puspa Irawati. In men’s doubles too, India struck the first round success as the pair of Pranaav Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar defeated Canadian combo of Adrian Liu/Derrick NG.
Qualifier Shreyansh Jaiswal of India brought unexpected cheers for badminton fans in the US $ 50,000 Vietnam Open Grand Prix at the Ho Chi Minh City. In his second round match, Jaiswal beat Malaysia’s Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif 21-16, 19-21, 21-15 to reach the third round. After dominating in the first game, the Indian messed up things and lost the second game, which he could have easily won. But Jaiswal made amends and played much better in the decider to take himself to the third round. Since Jaiswal’s third round opponent is another Indian, Sameer Verma, the quarterfinal berth for an Indian is assured. In the second round, Verma caused an upset by beating Indonesian sensation and eighth seeded Christie Jonatan in a hard-fought 64-minute duel. Verma lost the first game 16-21 against the fast-rising Indonesian teenager but came back to launch a fight in the next two games. There was little to separate the two youngsters and after Verma forced the decider by winning the second game 21-19, it was simply a matter of who could hold his nerves better. The ding-dong battle in the third game was finally won by Verma at 16-21, 21-19, 22-20.
Elsewhere, other Indians in the men’s singles met with disappointment. No.4 seed Ajay Jayaram lost to the unseeded Japanese Kenta Nishimoto in three games. Jayaram made plenty of unforced errors against the Japanese despite comfortably winning the second game. But Nishimoto didn’t allow any comeback bid to Jayaram in the decider and wrapped up the match 21-15, 13-21, 21-18 in 60 minutes. India’s no.5 seed B Sai Praneeth also lost in a closely-fought second round match against Indonesia’s Muhammad Bayu Pangisthu. After a 64-minute duel, the Indonesian finally defeated the Indian 21-19, 19-21, 21-16. The same fate beckoned India’s no.13 seeded RMV Gurusaidutt, who couldn’t hold his own against Indonesian Wisnu Yuli Prasetyo. The three-game fight lasted 55 minutes before Prasetyo emerged as the winner at 21-16, 15-2, 21-15 in 55 minutes.
More success came India’s way in the mixed doubles first round, when the pair of Arun Vishnu and Aparna Balan defeated Indonesia’s Hendra Aprida Gunawan and Shendy Puspa Irawati 21-19, 16-21, 21-14. However in another mixed doubles match, Indian combo of Akshay Dewalkar and Prajakta Sawant suffered a tame 30-minute 19-21, 12-21 defeat against Indonesia’s Markis Kido and Pia Zebadiah Bernadeth. In another success for the Indians, men’s doubles third-seeded pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar entered the second round with a 21-13, 21-9 victory over Canada’s Adrian Liu and NG Derrick. The lone Indian in women’s draw, Saili Rane yielded a walk-over as she didn’t show up for her match against Thailand’s Chochuwong Pornpawee.
