NAGPUR: It was expected to be a cracking contest, but Malvika Bansod had other plans. The enterprising city shuttler made light work of World Junior (U-19) No 1 Tasnim Mir to coast into the quarterfinals of the Odisha Open at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Cuttack on Thursday.
Malvika forged ahead, sustaining the momentum of her recent wins to dismiss the in-form Tasnim in a 33-minute lop-sided contest. The left-handed Malvika, ranked 67th in the world, won her second-round clash in straight games 21-13, 21-15 in the women's singles pre-quarterfinals of the BWF Super 100 tournament.
Malvika took time to settle into her groove and was initially trailing 3-6 in the first game. Once she got into her rhythm, the southpaw scored six unanswered points to take an 11-7 lead at the first break before winning the opening game with a comfortable eight-point margin in just 14 minutes.
The 16-year-old Tasnim tried to fight her way back in the second game, but the relatively experienced Malvika thwarted the Gujarat shuttler's attempt with a strong endgame. After Tasnim brought the second game at par 14-14, Malvika started involving her in long rallies and scored six consecutive points to seal the fate of her young opponent in 19 minutes.
Earlier, in the opening round on Wednesday, Malvika took just 28 minutes to get the better of Srivedya Gurazada 21-16, 21-11.
The 20-year-old Malvika, who had lost to PV Sindhu in the final of the Syed Modi International last week after defeating her idol Saina Nehwal at the India Open earlier this month, will take on Tanya Hemanth in the quarterfinal on Friday. In another second-round clash, Tanya outplayed Vijetha Harish 21-17, 21-17 in 29 minutes.
In an exciting clash, fifth seed Ashmita Chaliha booked her quarterfinal spot with a come-from-behind 21-17, 21-16 victory against compatriot Anupama Upadhyaya in 31 minutes.
