Ashmita Chaliha stuns World No. 2 Akane Yamaguchi at French Open

Ashmita Chaliha secured the biggest win of her career at the French Open in Tremblay-en-France on Thursday, defeating three-time champion and world No. 2 Akane Yamaguchi in the second round.

The southpaw from Assam won 21-19, 21-18 to become the first Indian shuttler, after PV Sindhu, to beat the world No. 2. Sindhu had beaten Yamaguchi at the Thailand Open in 2022.

Ashmita, who missed her favourite Durga Puja celebrations back home, came armed with a clear plan: repeatedly push Yamaguchi into the far backhand corner to open up the court. The Indian combined clever drops with powerful smashes, remained composed through long rallies and picked her moments to attack.

The victory also served as sweet revenge for Ashmita, who had lost to Yamaguchi 21-18, 21-10 in the round of 16 at the Denmark Open last week.

The win marks another step in Ashmita’s comeback after a three-month layoff due to a meniscus tear in her right knee. She returned to action in May and impressed on the BWF Tour, reaching the semifinals of the Macau Open before claiming her maiden World Tour title with a come-from-behind victory over China’s Han Qian Xi in the Korea Masters Super 300 final.

Earlier in the tournament, Indian shuttlers Ayush Shetty and Tanvi Sharma bowed out in the second round of their respective events.

The 17-year-old Tanvi struggled against world No. 1 and top seed An Se Young of South Korea, losing 11-21, 14-21 in a 37-minute women’s singles match.

Shetty, meanwhile, retired from his men’s singles second-round match against Japan’s sixth seed Kodai Naraoka due to an undisclosed injury. He was trailing 17-21, 6-11 at the time.