Rupesh-Thomas pair in pre-quarters; Trupti bows out

Madrid, Sep 20 (UNI) India had a mixed luck at the World Badminton Championships today as Rupesh Kumar and Thomas Sanave muscled their way into the men's doubles pre-quarterfinals but Trupti Murgunde bowed out fighting from the women's singles event here.

On court No one, Rupesh-Thomas pair had to sweat it out for three games and 46 minutes to down Albertus Susanto Njoto and Yohan Hadikusumo Wiratama of Hong Kong 21-17, 19-21, 21-19.

The Indian pair started on a positive note gelling together and covering the court well. With a display of thunderous smashes and feather-touch drop shots on the net, they pocketed the first game 21-17 easily.

However, the Hong Kong pair bounced back well to take the next game and draw parity. In the decider, the India duo dug deep to win the game 21-19 and advance into round three.

Meanwhile, the Indian challenge in the singles event came to an end after Trupti Murgunde lost to Eriko Hirose of Japan in a closely-fought match.

Trupti squandered a game's advantage as the resurgent Japanese lass fought back to rake the match 6-21, 21-16, 21-12.

UNI XC DH PM2026