Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, who is returning from an ankle injury, begins her campaign against former World Champion Carolina Marin of Spain in the first round of Malaysia Open.
The fifth seed Indian lost 21-12, 10-21, 19-21 in his opening round men's singles tie that lasted 56 minutes.
Denmark's Viktor Axelsen and Japan's Akane Yamaguchi's dominance continued as they stayed on course for a second successive title.
Sindhu will play her opening match on Sunday, while B Sai Praneeth and the men's pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy will be in action on Saturday.
None of the other three quarters boast of such a strong star cast but there would be a few mouth-watering opening round clashes to look forward to.
Srikanth made an attacking start after the change of ends, putting his smashes to good use, to lead 5-1. Two tight smashes on either side helped the Indian to maintain his lead to 8-3 before he entered the break with a healthy seven-point advantage when Axelsen went to the net.
Manu Bhaker and Deepika Kumari will be keen to make up for their below-par starts as they take centrestage on Day 7 of the Tokyo Olympics, on Friday.
Sindhu had been left in tears after an 'unfair' call by the umpires midway
His backhand blocks and forehand low returns reaped dividends but an alert Gemke managed to grab a four-point cushion at the interval.
The 19-year-old Indian came up with a splendid display but it was not enough to prevent him doing down 17-21, 21-16, 17-21 after 55 minutes.
PV Sindhu eked out a three-game win over world number 1 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan
Her reluctance to appear for BAI trials could well end her chances of representing the flag
Sindhu battled hard before going down to Akane Yamaguchi 18-21, 15-21.
If Sindhu and Saina win their respective second round matches, they will face each other in the quarter-finals.
Kidambi Srikanth scored a stunning straight-games victory over world No. 4 Lee Zii Jia but Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen suffered a shock defeat in the opening round of the Japan Open Super 750 badminton tournament, in Osaka, on Wednesday.
Indian badminton star Pusarla V Sindhu won badminton's women's bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, beating China's He Bing Jao 21-13, 21-15 in third-place play-off on Sunday.
India's P V Sindhu squandered an 11-6 lead in the second game before going down 18-21, 21-18, 21-8 in 68 minutes to former world number one Akane Yamaguchi.
The 26-year-old from Hyderabad lost her momentum after that incident, losing 21-13, 19-21, 16-21 to eventually sign off with a bronze medal, her second in the continental individual championship.
India's double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu showed great determination to outwit Japan's Aya Ohori in the women's singles opening round, while B Sai Praneeth and Kidmabi Srikanth also advanced to the men's singles second round of the Indonesia Open Super 1000 event, in Bali, on Wednesday.
India's Tokyo Paralympics gold winner Pramod Bhagat was on Thursday named among six shuttlers for the Male Para Badminton Player of the Year by the sport's world body but none of his compatriots featured in the able-bodied awards' categories.
P V Sindhu will have to quickly recover from her painful loss against Tai Tzu Ying in the semi-finals and make a fresh start when she faces China's He Bing Jiao in Sunday's bronze medal play-off match at the Tokyo Olympics, her father P V Ramana said.
India's P V Sindhu came into the semi-final contest with an overwhelming 4-1 head-to-head lead over Thailand's Chochuwong, but wasn't at her best.
Just like in her campaign opener against Japan's Akane Yamaguchi on Wednesday, Sindhu squandered a game advantage to lose yet again in the year-ending BWF World Tour Final
Olympic bronze-medallist Saina Nehwal clinched the $700,000 China Open Super Series Premier tournament after beating young Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the summit clash, in Fuzhou, China, on Sunday.
India's challenge at the Japan Open ended with Sai Praneeth's losing to top seed and home hero Kento Momota in the semi-finals, in Tokyo, on Saturday. The Indian lost 18-21, 12-21 in 45 minutes.
The Indian women's badminton team crashed out of the Uber Cup after losing to Japan in the quarter-finals in Aarhus, Denmark on Thursday while the men completed their group engagements in the Thomas Cup with a defeat to China.
India's P V Sindhu took a firm step in her quest for Olympic gold in the women's singles badminton, easily disposing off the challenge from Japan's Akane Yamaguchi in the women's singles badminton quarter-final in Tokyo, on Friday, July 30, 2021.
World champion P V Sindhu remains India's best Olympic medal prospect but she has to give more attention to her recovery process between matches to achieve the feat at the Tokyo Olympic Games, said former India badminton coach Vimal Kumar.
Former World No 1 Saina, the London Olympics bronze medallist, lost 14-21, 21-17, 17-21 to World No 2 Yamaguchi in a 50-minute women's singles clash.
India's badminton ace P V Sindhu entered the summit clash of BWF World Tour Finals with a hard fought win over Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the semi-finals, in Bali, on Saturday.
China, who have yet to lose a single badminton match to another nation at the Tokyo Olympics, won gold and silver in mixed doubles on Friday after Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongping beat favourites Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong 21-17, 17-21, 21-19.
P V Sindhu stormed into the quarter-finals of the women's singles badminton at the Olympics with an easy 21-15, 21-13 victory over Denmark's Mia Blichfeldt in Tokyo on Thursday.
Srikanth made a good start in the second game, moving to 7-3 advantage but Lee once again turned the tables, jumping to 13-9 and kept his nose ahead to eventually shut the doors on the Indian.
On Saturday, Sen had become only the fifth Indian after Prakash Nath (1947), Prakash Padukone (1980, 1981), Pullela Gopichand (2001) and Saina Nehwal (2015) to reach the final of the prestigious tournament after outwitting defending champion Lee Zii Jia in a gruelling semi-final.
India's Lakshya Sen on Thursday progressed to the quarter-finals of the All England Badminton Championships in Birmingham, while HS Prannoy crashed out in the second round.
The Tokyo Olympics produced many, many, many emotional moments for the athletes and their coaches...
A look at the country's athletes' showing at the Tokyo Olympics on Friday, July 30.
The top Indian players, including Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and Srikanth have failed to lift the prestigious trophy
Saina Nehwal breezed into the quarter-finals of the Denmark Open, scoring a 21-15, 21-17 victory over Japan's world No. 2-ramked Akane Yamaguchi on Thursday.
The 2021 All England Open will be the second tournament this year to offer ranking points to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, after the Swiss Open.
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