Orleans, March 17 The Indian men's doubles pair of Hariharan Amsakarunan and M R Arjun advanced to the pre-quarterfinals, while Aakarshi Kashyap entered the women's singles main draw after registering two wins in the qualifying rounds at the Orleans Masters Super 300 badminton tournament here on Tuesday.
Hariharan and Arjun, who had won the Al Ain Masters Super 100, Turkiye International Challenge, and Telangana India International Challenge titles in 2025, emerged victorious after Czechia's Jiri Kral and Ondrej Kral retired after losing the opening game 10-21.
The Indian duo will face Scotland's Alexander Dunn and Adam Pringle next.
Earlier, World No. 63 Aakarshi first defeated her compatriot Shriyanshi Valishetty 21-19, 17-21, 21-13 before overcoming Lee Y H of Chinese Taipei 21-17, 21-19 in the next round to move to the main draw.
She will face Singapore's Yeo Jia Min next.
In men's singles qualifying, S Subramanian lost 12-21, 18-21 to Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia, a Paris Olympics bronze medallist, who is on a comeback trial after an injury-plagued 2025 season, where he opted for rehabilitation over back surgery.
In women's doubles, the Indian pair of Ashwini Bhat K and Shikha Gautam conceded a walkover against the Japanese duo of Rui Hirokami and Sayaka Hobara.