US Open: Rounak Chouhan upsets World No. 6, top seed Chou Tien Chen to reach quarters
Fullerton, June 26
India's Rounak Chouhan created the biggest upset of the US Open badminton tournament here on Thursday when he packed off World no 6 and men's singles top seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in straight games.
World No. 80, Chouhan, who was part of India's bronze medal winning world junior campaign, defeated Chou 21-17, 26-24 to set up a last eight clash against Misha Zilberman of Israel.
The 18-year-old India kept the pressure on his more experienced opponent from the start and though Chou kept his nose ahead till 17-15, Chouhan won six straight points thereafter to pocket the opening game.
Chou was the dominant player for most part of the second game as he commanded a 17-11 lead before Chouhan once again bagged six straight points to draw level. It was a neck-and-neck battle thereafter as Chouhan saved four game points before converting his second mach point to clinch victory in 49 minutes.
Earlier, in the qualifiers, Rounak Chouhan booked his place in the main draw with two convincing wins, first getting the better of France's Enogat Roy 21-19, 21-16 before recovering from a set down to beat Chinese Taipei's Kuo Kuan Lin 13-21, 21-14, 21-10. The rising Indian shuttler then rode on that momentum to win the first of the two all-Indian contests, beating former World Junior Championships silver medallist S Sankar Muthusamy 23-21, 21-16 to enter the second round.
Also advancing to the last eight stage were world junior silver medallist Tanvi Sharma, Rakshitha Sree and Devika Sihag in women's singles.
Fifth seed Tanvi defeated Tung Ciou-Tong of Chinese Taipei 21-12, 21-19, Rakshitha got the better of Tung's compatriot Chen Su Yu 21-4, 21-19 while sixth seed Devika beat Tonrug Saeheng of Thailand 21-17, 21-19.
The experienced Kidambi Srikanth then capped off a fruitful day for India with a 21-14, 21-13 win over Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Absolutely thrilled to see this! Coming back from 17-11 down in the second game shows incredible mental strength. And saving four game points? That's champion stuff. Indian sports is on the rise — first chess, then cricket, now badminton. So proud!
Great win, but let's not forget there's still a long way to go. Consistency is key in badminton. I hope Rounak doesn't get complacent and keeps working hard. The quarterfinal against Zilberman won't be easy. Fingers crossed for him! 🤞
As a badminton fan from the US, it's amazing to see young talent from India shine here. Rounak's raw aggression and court coverage were impressive. Chou Tien Chen usually dominates these types of matches, but the Indian kid was relentless. Respect.
Wait, did you say Rounak Chouhan is from that World Junior Championships bronze-winning team? 🔥 And now he's taking down the top seed! Indian badminton is definitely in safe hands. Also great to see Tanvi, Rakshitha, and Devika advancing. What a day for India!
I've been following badminton for years, and this is exactly the kind of upset that makes the sport exciting. Rounak's ability to win six straight points twice in crucial moments is remarkable. The future of Indian badminton looks incredibly bright!
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