Yonex-Sunrise Bangladesh Int’l Challenge Gaurab, the lone survivor in singles

Sports Reporter :

The Yonex-Sunrise Bangladesh International Challenge continued on Wednesday , the second day of the tournament, with Bangladesh’s shuttlers enduring another difficult outing, particularly in the singles events.

After a mixed start in the qualification round on the opening day, hopes of a turnaround faded quickly as most of the home players bowed out early. In both men’s and women’s singles, Akib Sulaiman and Shuvo Khandakar, who had won their opening matches, suffered defeats in their second outings.

Experienced national shuttlers such as Aiman Ibne Jaman and Al-Amin Jumar also failed to advance, while Nasima Khatun, despite winning her first match, could not carry the momentum into the next round. The trend continued on Wednesday morning as national champion Khandakar Abdus Sowad was also eliminated.

Amid the gloom, Gaurab Singh stood tall as Bangladesh’s sole remaining contender in the singles draw. The three-time national champion from Sylhet secured his place in the last 32 with a convincing straight-games win over Australia’s Pushkal Iru Sumalla, winning 21-12, 21-12 with authority.

After the match, Gaurab with smile, said, “I am very happy to have won today. The international level is very high, and you never know who will play well on a given day.”

“One wins, another loses. I played well today, and that made the difference,” he added.
Reflecting on his improvement, Gaurab revealed that he had undergone three months of intensive training ahead of the SAFF Games. “I stayed disciplined, trained under a foreign coach and worked on playing at full speed. Earlier, I used to struggle after 16 or 17 points, but I have worked hard to improve that,” he added.

Gaurab also downplayed the importance of rankings in international competition.
“Here, everyone is good and mostly unfamiliar. All opponents are new. Winning one round makes me feel better, and this victory will motivate me in the next matches. I will also play doubles today and try to do well. I want to be the best for the spectators and make my country proud,” he said.

Bangladesh’s struggles extended to the doubles events as well. Brothers Sifat Ullah Galib and Mohammad Sibgat Ullah were knocked out by their Vietnamese opponents, losing in straight games 21-15, 21-12, as the popular Chattogram pair failed to find their rhythm.
As the tournament progresses, all eyes will now be on Gaurab Singh to carry Bangladesh’s hopes forward in the singles draw.