Indian Shuttlers Shine on Day 2 of Odisha Masters 2025 in Cuttack

Indian shuttlers continued their impressive run on the second day of the Odisha Masters 2025, securing multiple spots in the pre-quarterfinals across key categories at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Cuttack. A total of 76 matches across singles and doubles divisions were completed as the tournament gathered pace.

In women’s singles, top seed Unnati Hooda breezed into the pre-quarterfinals with a commanding 21-12, 21-18 victory over UAE’s Prakriti Bharat. She was joined by Tanvi Sharma (3rd seed), Anmol Kharb (6th seed) and unseeded Tanya Hemanth, all of whom put up confident performances to advance.

The momentum continued in men’s singles, where top seed Tharun Mannepally dominated Manav Chaudhary 21-5, 21-8 to move into the last 16. Defending champion Satish Kumar, second seed Kiran George, and promising youngster Priyanshu Rajawat also registered comfortable wins to secure their pre-quarterfinal berths.

In mixed doubles, Indonesia’s top-seeded duo M. Fazha and A. Pranata marched into the quarterfinals with a straight-games victory over Malaysia’s Wei Yi Hern and Vani Gobi. Other pairs entering the last eight included the Indonesian pair of B. Prasetyo–A. Munggaran, India’s Aryan Sapia–Ashwini Ponnappa, and the Indian combination of D. Vel Murugan–P. Natarajan.

The day also saw Sports and Youth Services Minister Suryavanshi Suraj attend as Chief Guest, motivating players and applauding Odisha’s continuous efforts to promote global sporting events. Several dignitaries, including Cuttack Sadar MLA Prakash Chandra Sethi, Sports Department Director Dr. Bijay Yedulla, Cuttack Collector Dattatreya Bhausaheb Shinde, CMC Commissioner Kiran Deep Kaur Sauhata, actor Sritam Das and Tournament Director Venugopal Mahalingam, graced the event.

Organised jointly by the Badminton World Federation (BWF), Badminton Association of India (BAI), the Sports and Youth Services Department of Odisha, and the Odisha State Badminton Association, the championship will conclude on December 14.

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