Kuala Lumpur, May 19 (IANS) Indian men’s doubles pair Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun produced one of the biggest upsets of the opening round at the Malaysia Masters on Tuesday, defeating seventh seeds Christo Popov and Toma Junior Popov in straight games.

Facing the European Championships silver medallists, the Indian duo entered the contest as clear underdogs but delivered a composed performance to register a 21-19, 21-15 victory and advance to the second round.

Hariharan and Arjun edged out a tense opening game after staying level for most of the contest, then carried the momentum into the second, where they controlled the rallies more confidently to close out the match in two games.

The result marks another encouraging step for the Indian pair, who have steadily built momentum over the past year on the international circuit. The duo claimed titles at the Telangana India International Challenge in November last year and also lifted trophies at the Turkiye International Challenge and Al Ain Masters in October. Earlier in the season, they also won the St. Denis Reunion Open.

Currently ranked World No. 31, the Indians now have an opportunity to break into the top 30 if they can put together a deep run in Kuala Lumpur.

In the next round, Hariharan and Arjun will face either Indonesia’s Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin or China’s Hu Ke Yuan and Lin Xiang Yi. The Indian pair had previously suffered a quarterfinal defeat against Carnando and Bagas Maulana at the Orleans Masters earlier this year.

Elsewhere, India had mixed results across categories on the tournament’s opening day. The mixed doubles pair of Sathwik Kanapuram and Radhika Sharma advanced through qualifying after beating the Malaysian pair of Datu Asrah and Clarissa San.

In women’s singles qualifying, Ashmita Chaliha advanced with a win over Pai Yu Po of Chinese Taipei, while Aakarshi Kashyap bowed out after losing to South Korea’s Park Ga Eun. India also endured disappointment in women’s doubles, where Ashwini Bhat and Shikha Gautam were beaten in the opening round by Canada’s Jackie Dent and Crystal Lai.

Meanwhile, India’s top men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty skipped the Malaysia Masters as part of workload management after their recent runners-up finish at the Thailand Open.

–IANS

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