Tanishak trounces champion

Mumbai, July 3: Andhra Pradesh’s K. Tanishak stunned defen-ding champion and second seed Aravind Bhat 21-19, 21-16 in the first-round match at the second edition of the Tata Open All India senior-ranking badminton tournament at the Cricket Club of India on Friday.

The 27-year-old Tanishak excelled in all departments of the game and took 40 minutes to overpower his fancied opponent, Bhat, who had made it to the pre-quarters of the Malaysian Open last week.

In the last men’s singles of the day, Tanishak defeated Mohit Kamat 21-19, 21-19 to cruise into the quarterfinals where he will play his statemate R.M.V. Guru Sai Dutt, a 21-19, 21-9 winner over Thomas Kurian.

In another upset, eighth seed J.B.S. Vidyadhar suffered a 21-11, 9-21, 13-21 loss to S.D.S. Krishna.

Meanwhile, top seed Chetan Anand had few dicey moments before he cruised into the quarterfinals. He defeated Pavan Malik 21-11, 21-12 in the first round and Vinak Kumar Reddy 21-15, 21-13 in the second.