Scottish Open Badminton: Josh Apiliga shocks Nadeem Dalvi to qualify for main draw
- Published
Josh Apiliga's ranking has plummeted because of injury problems
Scottish Open Badminton Championships |
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Venue: Emirates Arena, Glasgow Dates: 5-8 October |
Coverage: Watch Sunday's finals live on the BBC iPlayer & the BBC Sport website and app. |
Glasgow's Josh Apiliga caused a major shock as he qualified for the Scottish Open main draw by beating English number three Nadeem Dalvi.
The 22-year-old, whose Scottish ranking has fallen to 74 amid knee problems, already negotiated three rounds of qualifying before his 21-19 21-7 win.
Apiliga rated it "one of the best wins of my career".
Qualifying for the main draw of the Scottish Open is right up there with anything I've done," he said.
"Probably, to be honest, I have struggled for a while now with my confidence and to beat a player of Nadeem's quality is a real boost in that respect.
"I have had injury issues with tendinopathy in the patellar tendon and that has been going on for over 18 months and I am just back training fully in the last three months."
Josh faces fellow qualifier Harry Jones from England on Friday.
Meanwhile, Scottish 16-year-old Iona Muir made the main draw after compatriot Abbie Brooks pulled up with a hamstring injury when the latter was leading 15-14.
The Scottish number four next meets Sweden's Mirjam Lindgarde, while home number two Rachel Sugden faces seventh seed Kisona Selvaduray of Malaysia.