Saarbrucken: Ayush Shetty and Kiran George grabbed the headlines on a fruitful day for India at the Hylo Open Super 500, registering stunning wins over higher-ranked opponents to storm into the men’s singles quarterfinals here on Thursday.
If US Open champion Ayush thrashed former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in a lopsided contest, Kiran showed grit and composure en route an upset win over world No. 13 Toma Junior Popov of France.
Ayush’s shock Loh 21-11, 21-11 in a Round-of-16 match, while world No. 38 Kiran edged eighth seed Popov 18-21, 21-18, 21-19.
Earlier, Lakshya Sen and Rakshitha Ramesh booked their berths in the men’s and women’s singles quarterfinals with contrasting victories. Sen eased past S Subramanian 21-14, 21-11, while Rakshitha overcame Shriyanshi Valishetty 19-21, 21-8, 21-13 in another all-Indian contest.