India’s Malvika Bansod, on Thursday, made her way into the women’s singles quarter-finals of the 2024 China Open Super 1000 in Changzhou.
The 23-year-old Bansod got the better of a higher ranked Kirsty Gilmour 21-17, 19-21, 21-16 in a contest which lasted 65 minutes.
“It feels great,” said Bansod, who made it to her first-ever career Super 1000 quarter-finals, in the mixed zone after her win. “I had actually dreamt of it coming into the tournament and I just wake up and I am in the top eight. So it is a great feeling.”
Bansod, ranked 43rd in the world, did not have the best starts to the match as she struggled to find her rhythm early on and trailed 5-11 at the mid-game interval.
The left-handed shuttler, however, soon found the momentum right after the break as she won eight of the next ten points to draw level with Gilmour at 13-13. The Scottish shuttler was taken aback by the sudden change in pace of the game from Bansod and could only muster four more points as the Indian pocketed the opening game 21-17.
Bansod carried forward the mometum to the second game as well as she opened up an 11-8 lead at the mid-game break. However, she soon lost her way as Gilmour tightened the screws and fought back to win it 21-19 and force a decider as the former struggled to counter the drift.
Bansod then raced away in the decider, opening up an 11-4 lead. Gilmour once again fought back after the change of ends, using the drift to her benefit. But the seven-point lead helped the Indian hold her own as she made it to the quarters.
“There was a lot of drift,” said Bansod. “So it was a bit difficult to control the shuttle in the last part of the last game and the last part of the second game.
“It is definitely one of the biggest wins of my career. Yesterday I won against Gregoria [Tunjung] and I had lost to her previously. It is a dream come true and the biggest achievement of my life so far.”
The youngster maintained that she has been handling the conditions on court better and elevated fitness level has been aiding her in closing off matches.
Bansod will next take on fourth seeded Japanese shuttler Akane Yamaguchi in the quarter-finals on Friday.
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