Arctic Open 2025: Anmol Kharb stuns World No. 21 Lin Hsiang Ti

India enjoyed a strong opening day at the Arctic Open 2025, a BWF Super 500 event, headlined by Anmol Kharb’s sensational victory over sixth seed and world No. 21 Lin Hsiang Ti of Chinese Taipei in the women's singles opening round.

The 18-year-old, ranked No. 62, battled for 77 minutes to claim a hard-fought 23-21, 11-21, 21-18 win at the Vantaan Energia Areena.

After trailing 3-8 in the opening game, Anmol mounted a spirited comeback to lead 18-13, before sealing it 23-21 despite late resistance from Lin. The sixth seed dominated the second game to force a decider, but Anmol recovered brilliantly — rallying from 0-4 down and keeping her nerve under pressure to clinch a memorable victory.

Anmol will now face Wen Chi Hsu of Chinese Taipei in the Round of 16, with a potential quarterfinal clash against third seed Gao Fang Jie of China if she progresses.

In mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, seeded eighth, delivered a commanding performance, defeating Lucas Renoir and Camille Pognante of France 21-9, 21-7 in just 23 minutes to reach the Round of 16.

Another Indian pair of Mohit Jaglan and Lakshita Jaglan lost to Netherlands' Brian Wassink and Debora Jille 19-21, 15-21

In the women's singles, Tanya Henamth got off to a good start defeating beat Huang Ching Ping of Chinese Taipei 22-20, 21-18 while Kavipriya Selvam fell out of contention, losing to eighth seed Mia Blichfeldt of Denmark 16-21, 16-21.