Malvika Bansod advanced to the final of the Hylo Open 2024 badminton tournament’s women’s singles category after defeating Danish shuttler Julie Dawall Jakobsen 23-21, 21-18 in the semi-finals on Saturday. World No. 34. Malvika Bansod, seeded sixth, trailed 13-7 against Julie Dawall Jakobsen, the 38th-ranked badminton player and eighth seed. She came back with determination to edge out her opponent, three years her senior, and grab the lead.
Malvika attacked Jakobsen at the start of the second game. She took the 15-7 lead before the Dane launched a comeback to tie the score at 17-all. Just when it appeared like the match might go to a penalty shootout, Malvika found an additional gear at the key moment to seal the victory in 44 minutes. Malvika Bansod will meet another Danish lady, seventh seed Mia Blichfeldt, for the championship on Sunday.
It will be the Indian badminton player’s second final appearance on the BWF World Tour, having finished second to PV Sindhu in the Syed Modi International 2022 BWF Super 300 tournament. The Hylo Open is a Super 300 badminton competition. Malvika Bansod, still in her early twenties, made news when she won the silver medal in the 2022 Syed Modi International competition. This happened during her first season on the BWF World Tour.
Malvika Bansod will be the next face of India
Is Malvika Bansod making waves in badminton? Malvika has been in fantastic shape this year. She won the Azerbaijan International in February and advanced to the US Open semifinals in June. She stunned Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, who won the bronze medal in Paris 2024, on her way to the China Open quarterfinals. On her path to the Syed Modi International final. Malvika defeated other promising badminton players such as Aakarshi Kashyap.
But in her final match against two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu, she lost 21-13, 21-16 in 35 minutes. Nevertheless, it impressed PV Sindhu. The teenager maintained her stellar run at the Odisha Open, winning the bronze medal. In 2022, he finished on the podium twice out of three competitions. Her career has begun to advance. She dominated junior tournaments, earning many medals at the age-group and state levels.
