Bangladesh endure winless opening day at Yonex-Sunrise Int'l Series

 
The Yonex-Sunrise Bangladesh International Series began on a sobering note for the host nation on Tuesday, as Bangladesh's shuttlers endured a frustrating opening day at the Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Indoor Stadium in Dhaka.

Despite fielding players in both men's and women's singles, Bangladesh failed to record a single victory on day one. The only piece of good fortune came in the qualification round, where seasoned campaigner Aiman Ibne Jaman progressed without lifting a racket after his opponent failed to appear.

None of Bangladesh's top seeds were in action on the first day. Leading hopes Al-Amin Jumar, Urmi Akter, Moazzem Hossain Ohidul and Aiman Ibne Jaman are all scheduled to begin their campaigns on Wednesday, with expectations of a stronger showing.

In women's singles, Jerin Iqbal Mohona was outplayed by her Vietnamese opponent, going down 21-3, 21-9. The men's singles draw offered little relief either. Akib Sulaiman, who had impressed recently in men's doubles at the International Challenge, was beaten 21-8, 21-16 by India's Riyan Ranjan in his opening match.

Mostakim Hossain showed flashes of resistance against Malaysia's Kong Jing, narrowly losing the first game 22-20 before conceding the second 21-15 to exit the competition. In another women's singles encounter, Smriti Rajbanshi put up a better fight in the second game but ultimately fell 21-11 and 21-19 to India's Nishu Malik.

The day's woes were completed when Lika Poddar exited the men's singles after a straight-games defeat to India's Bala Reddy, losing 21-19 and 21-13.

With the opening exchanges offering little comfort, Bangladesh will be keen to reset and regroup as their leading shuttlers take to the courts in the days ahead.