India Open: Laid Low by Bug, Blichfeldt Refuses to Buckle

Considering her situation on Tuesday — she’d thrown up all night and was barely able to get on court the next day – Mia Blichfeldt had accomplished something special at the YONEX-SUNRISE India Open 2025 despite exiting the tournament in the second round. She’d not only won her opening match but pushed Wang Zhi Yi to three games today, refusing to go down without a fight.

It was an hour-long battle, with Blichfeldt falling in a 13-21 21-16 21-8 loss to the world No.2, who has been in the form of her life lately.

“That night was terrible. The only sleep I got was in the morning because I kept throwing up all night. I’m really tired now and my body is really dead,” said Blichfeldt, who said she’d picked up a stomach infection on Tuesday.

“It’s not so nice for me, but I’m happy with the match I pulled yesterday and the outcome today but I wish I could have gone to court at 100 per cent.

“It happened Tuesday evening. It took a lot of mental work (to get on court). It’s really frustrating when you’ve been training to come to these tournaments and then this is one of the things that stops you from performing.”

The Dane said she was proud of staying the course despite her condition, as she took the fight to the Chinese.

“Today I felt I dug deep and I did everything I could. I had to adjust my game and I’m actually playing good when I’m not playing high speed all the time. Now I’m looking forward to going back to France and working for the European tour in February and March.”

Having moved to France and with the shift in her personal and professional life, Blichfeldt said there was a lot to look forward to.

“I feel I still have many things to accomplish. Now I’ve made a switch in my setup so I’m now training with new people and I have a new coach and that’s really motivating for me. So my next big goal is to win the European Championships on home ground in April.”

Lanier Runs into George

Kiran George

Kiran George had twice beaten Alex Lanier before their faceoff today, and yet it was something of a surprise when George made it 3-0, for Lanier has been in head-turning form lately. The Indian survived six game points in the first before banking on the momentum to take the match in straight games, 22-20 21-13.

“I was taking it one point at a time when I was trailing, and that helped me take the first game,” said George. “I was just being patient, not giving easy points. This win is good, but I’m focussed on the next match. It’s a huge confidence booster, going into the next match.”

Next up for the Indian will be Weng Hong Yang, who held off Leong Jun Hao 21-18 21-12.

WHAT THEY SAID

“I’ve accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish, twice, and I’m super happy about that but in order to stay hungry I need to set myself new targets and for me it’s to fulfil my full potential. Everyday there are different circumstances, there are new challenges to be had, and I’m trying to get better.” – Viktor Axelsen

“She’s left-handed and still young, she’s 19, so we need more experience and we can improve on our rotation and defence. But it’s not so bad so far.” – Yuta Watanabe on new partner Maya Taguchi

“We told ourselves not to think of getting points too easily; we had to keep our strokes consistent and finally we did it. This is what we lacked earlier. When our opponents are leading, we have to stay emotionally stable and keep fighting.” – Toh Ee Wei

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