Korea Masters 2024: Kiran George Fights Back From Game Down to Reach Second Round

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India's Kiran George on Wednesday (November 6) saw off Vietnam's Kuan Lin Kuo to reach the men's singles second round in the ongoing Korea Masters 2024 badminton tournament which is taking place at the Iksan Gymnasium in Iksan, South Korea.

The lone Indian competing the tournament, George produced a gritty performance to eke out a three-game win by a scoreline of 15-21, 21-12, 21-15 in a 57-minute opening round clash of BWF Super 300 tournament.

The world number 44 George will next take on third seed Chi Yu Jen of Chinese Taipei in the second round on Thursday (November 7) on court 1 with the match expected to start around 10:30 AM IST, and the contest will be live streamed on BWF TV YouTube Channel.

The 24-year-old Indian, who last competed in the China Open 2024 on the BWF World Tour in September, overcame a sluggish start to see off his Vietnamese opponent in their first ever meeting.

George, a winner in two Super 100 tournaments earlier, was slow to start the match, with Lin Kuo racing to an 11-4 lead and eventually taking the first game with ease.

Trailing 0-1, George notched six straight points to begin the second game in a dominating fashion. He then quickly closed off the game to force a decider. In the decider, he continued the winning momentum to wrap up the contest in less than an hour.

As for his second round opponent, Chi Yu Jen defeated Korea's Park Sang-yang in straight games 21-14 21-18 to reach the second round of the men's singles competition. The Chinese Taipei shuttler, who is seeded third, has lost in his only previous meeting against George. The Indian won the round of 16 clash in Hong Kong Open 2023 by straight games.

George was the lone Indian shuttler in action at the Korea Masters Super 300 tournament. Last week, Malvika Bansod defied all the odds to reach the final of the Hylo Open 2024, where the Indian finished runners up in the women's singles competition.