Kiran George of India achieved a remarkable upset against world No. 13 Toma Junior Popov of France, advancing to the men’s singles quarterfinals at the USD 475,000 Hylo Open Super 500 badminton tournament on Thursday. Ranked 38th in the world, Kiran, the son of former national champion George Thomas, showcased a resilient performance to defeat the eighth seed Popov with scores of 18-21, 21-18, 21-19 in a thrilling match that lasted 69 minutes. The 25-year-old athlete, who trains at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, previously reached a Super 750 quarterfinal at the India Open in January.
Kiran, a two-time Super 100 champion with titles at the 2022 Odisha Open and the 2023 Indonesia Masters, will next face either second seed Jonatan Christie from Indonesia or Chi Yu Jen from Chinese Taipei. Earlier, both Lakshya Sen and Rakshitha Ramesh secured their spots in the men’s and women’s singles quarterfinals through different victories. Lakshya, who won a bronze medal at the 2021 World Championships, convincingly defeated his fellow countryman S Subramanian with a score of 21-14, 21-11. Meanwhile, Rakshitha triumphed over Shriyanshi Valishetty in another all-Indian match, winning 19-21, 21-8, 21-13 in 58 minutes. Lakshya is set to compete against fourth seed Alex Lanier of France, while Rakshitha will take on Denmark’s sixth seed Line Christophersen.
Kiran, who was part of India’s victorious 2022 Thomas Cup and 2020 Asian Team Championships teams, previously shocked world No. 1 Shi Yu Qi of China in 2023. Despite facing numerous injuries and close losses that hindered his progress, Kiran proved his resilience in this match. He initially fell behind but managed to equalize after losing the first game. In the deciding game, despite trailing 6-11, he recovered to take the lead at 19-17, ultimately sealing his victory. In another men’s singles pre-quarterfinal, Ayush Shetty is scheduled to compete against sixth seed and former world champion Loh Kean Yew from Singapore.