Denmark Open 2026: Ashmita Chaliha fights past Kaloyana Nalbantova; Unnati Hooda loses tough battle

File photo: Ashmita Chaliha digs deep to reach the round of 16, beating Kaloyana Nalbantova | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Ashmita Chaliha beat Bulgaria’s Kaloyana Nalbantova at the Denmark Open, 21-18, 21-20, to progress to the round of 16. Even though Ashmita won the match in straight games, it was not straightforward at all.

In the first game, she lost the lead after a quick start, and the game remained close from 7-7 to 18-17, but eventually Ashmita won the game 21-18.

In the second game, Ashmita had to hold her nerve to come from behind and win the game 22-20. She lost the lead to Kaloyana at 5-6 and was only able to reclaim the lead after it was 20-20.

She will now face the winner between the Danish Mia Blichfeldt and the third seed, Japanese Akane Yamaguchi, in the round of 16

ALSO READ:Denmark Open 2026: Satwik-Chirag suffers opening-round defeat to China’s He-Ren.

In the other women’s singles match, Unnati Hooda was unable to get past China’s Han Qian Xi, losing 21-23, 21-16, 16-21 in the round of 32.

Despite being level at 10-10 and 21-21 in game one, she was unable to clinch the game in a tough battle from the start. In game two, Unnati held the lead from the start until Han brought it back to 16-16; however, Unnati stayed calm and won 21-16.

Disappointingly, in game three, it seemed like she had lost the momentum and trailed the whole game to lose 16-21.

Published on Oct 14, 2026

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