US Open Badminton: Rounak Chouhan stuns world No. 6 Chou Tien Chen to reach quarterfinals

Teenager Rounak Chouhan pulled off the biggest upset of the US Open badminton tournament on Thursday, stunning top seed and world No. 6 Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in straight games to book his place in the men’s singles quarterfinals.

The 18-year-old Indian, ranked 80th in the world, produced a fearless display to overcome the vastly more experienced Taiwanese 21-17, 26-24 in 49 minutes. The victory earned Chouhan, a member of India’s bronze medal-winning squad at the World Junior Championships, a last-eight meeting with Israel’s Misha Zilberman.

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Chouhan showed remarkable composure in both games, turning the tide after trailing at crucial stages. Down 15-17 in the opening game, he rattled off six unanswered points to claim the opener.

The second game looked to be slipping away when Chou Tien Chen built a 17-11 advantage. But the Indian youngster mounted another stunning comeback, reeling off six consecutive points to draw level before saving four game points and converting his second match point to seal the biggest win of his career.

The upset capped an impressive run for Chouhan, who had battled through the qualifying rounds with victories over France’s Enogat Roy and Chinese Taipei’s Kuo Kuan Lin before defeating former World Junior Championships silver medallist S. Sankar Muthusamy in an all-Indian second-round contest.

India’s impressive showing continued in the women’s singles, where world junior silver medallist Tanvi Sharma, Rakshitha Sree and Devika Sihag all progressed to the quarterfinals.

Fifth seed Tanvi beat Chinese Taipei’s Tung Ciou-Tong 21-12, 21-19, while Rakshitha overcame Chen Su Yu 21-4, 21-19. Sixth seed Devika completed the trio’s successful day with a 21-17, 21-19 victory over Thailand’s Tonrug Saeheng.

Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth also advanced to the quarterfinals, defeating Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia 21-14, 21-13 to cap a memorable day for the Indian contingent.