dd yy
After her impressive opening-round victory over Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, Malvika Bansod maintained her momentum by defeating No. 25 Kirsty Gilmour to reach her first HSBC BWF World Tour Super 1000 quarterfinal at the VICTOR China Open 2024.
The Indian world No. 43 secured her third win against Gilmour in their five encounters, advancing to face fourth seed Akane Yamaguchi in what marks her best career result to date.
“It feels amazing,” Bansod expressed. “I had actually envisioned this when I entered the tournament, thinking about how incredible it would be to reach the quarterfinals. Now, waking up as a top-eight player is such a great feeling!”
“This is definitely the biggest victory of my career. Winning against Gregoria yesterday was significant, and now reaching the quarterfinals of a Super 1000 is a dream come true—my biggest achievement so far.”
Bansod faces a tough challenge against Yamaguchi, but she recalled their last encounter at the Badminton Asia Championships 2023, which was closely contested.
“This will be our third match against each other. I’m hopeful for a good result. I’m in great form, so I’ll give it my all. Our last match was close; I lost 25-23, 21-19, so I aim to bring my best performance.”
Having just turned 22 on September 15, Bansod hopes her birthday luck will continue.
“It’s been a fortunate week for me, and I typically play well around my birthday. Things are going strong now; my birthday was on the 15th, and today is the 19th. I hope this luck continues. Last year around this time, I performed well at the Hong Kong Open and was selected for the Asian Games as well.”
