India Junior Int’l Grand Prix: Varun Kapur suffers shock defeat
The HinduMeiraba Luwang progressed to the quarterfinals but top seed Varun Kapur suffered a shock defeat in men’s singles on the opening day of the Yonex Sunrise India Junior International Grand Prix 2019 here on Friday. Second seed Meiraba — who won the Russian Junior White Nights championship this year — beat Malaysia’s M. Fazriq Mohamad Razif 21-12, 21-13, and then followed it up with a 21-15, 21-12 win over Thailand’s Puritat Arree, who had earlier ended the run of qualifier Pranav Rao Gandham, 21-16, 17-21, 21-19. Qualifier Ayush Raj Gupta began his campaign with a fantastic 21-14, 21-13 win over higher-ranked Sai Charan Koya, but his challenge was cut short in the next round by Thailand’s fifth seed Woraphop Chuenkha in a 21-14, 21-13 win. India’s promising junior mixed doubles pair of Tanisha Crasto and Ishaan Bhatnagar, who had come to this tournament with a rich vein of form, toppled the eighth seeds Edwin Joy and Shruti Mishra 21-14, 21-16 to book their quarterfinal berth.