LookAtVietnam – Unseeded Kashyap Parupalli from India caused an upset by beating No 7 seed Nguyen Tien Minh at the Happy Suwon Badminton Asia Championship in the third round yesterday in South Korea.

Nguyen Tien Minh. (Photo: ANTD)

Parupalli dominated Viet Nam’s top player from the outset, repeatedly smashing to the corners and making Minh rush around the court.

Hopes that Minh might make a comeback in the second set were dashed by the Indian’s relentless attacks, which saw him take the next two sets with relative ease.

Parupalli, who is ranked 48th in the world, stunned on lookers on Tuesday by beating Rana Kishor of Nepal 21-7, 21-7 in just 15 minutes in the first round. Although the win was predicted, it was a devastating performance that boded ill for his next rival. No 15 seed Hong Ji-hoon of South Korea, whom he dispatched 21-14, 7-21, 21-19 on Wednesday.

Minh, who dropped down four places in the world rankings due to his absence from the recent England Super Series and the Swiss Open, was Viet Nam’s last remaining representative in the competition.

Parupalli’s next rival will be No 4 seed Bao Chunlai from China. Bao reached the last 16 after beating No 14 Kuan Beng Hong of Malaysia 21-16, 10-21, 21-13 yesterday.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News