Sydney: Young Indian badminton player Anwesha Gowda crashed out of the Australian Open 2022 women’s singles event after losing to 2018 Youth Olympic Games champion Goh Jin Wei of Malaysia in the second round, here on Wednesday.
The 14-year-old Anwesha lost 7-21, 13-21 against her senior opponent in just 28 minutes at State Sports Centre here.
The Indian shuttler was pushed back from the start and went into the first break trailing 2-11. Goh Jin Wei, a two-time junior world champion, continued to dominate Anwesha after the interval and took the 1-0 lead. Despite Anwesha’s best efforts in the second game, she failed to match Goh’s intensity and eventually lost the match in straight games.
Earlier in the first round, Gowda, world No.8 in the junior badminton world rankings, had beaten the 20-year-old Pitchaya Elysia Viravong from Australia 21-9, 21-11.
Anwesha enjoyed an impressive 2022 season with four junior BWF titles and two second-place finishes. She was the only Indian badminton player alive at the BWF Super 300 tournament with most of India’s top-ranked badminton players pulling out due to various reasons.
–IANS