The Spanish flyer Carolina Marín has defeated the Japanese Naomi Okuhara in her debut at the Indian Open by 21-13 and 21-18 in 39 minutes. Marín, who does not start as seeded player, will play the next round of 16 against the sixth in the world, the Thai Ratchanok Intanon.
Indian Open I Carolina Marín beats Okujara (21-13, 21-18)
Received with a loud ovation by the Indian public, Marín quickly took the initiative to reach the intermission of the first set, with an 11-7 advantage on the scoreboard.
Without slowing down, and spurred on by Okuhara’s lack of success in her blows, the Spanish woman won the first set with a clear 21-13.
The match was tighter in the second set, when the Japanese recovered her precision and showed her excellent mobility, a hallmark that led her to be world champion in 2017came to get 13-10 ahead.
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But a good final set by Marín allowed him to win the second and final set 21-18 first. With this victory, the Huelva volante broke the tie that she had with Okuhara in her particular confrontation, and adds nine victories to eight for the Japanese.
“Difficult First Round”
“I think we have to keep improving. Today I have found myself a little slower“, the Spanish told Efe at the end of the game, pointing out that the midfielder slowed down the pace of the game.
“A Tough first round against Okuharawe have been able to overcome it, so already looking at Thursday”, he concluded.
The Olympic, European and world champion adds her third victory at the start of 2023, after reaching the quarterfinals in Malaysia.
