Lakshya Sen progressed to the quarterfinals of the men's singles competition at the Kumamoto Masters Japan with a straight game win over Singapore's Jia Heng Jason Teh in Kumamoto, Japan, on Thursday.
Top Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen registered an upset win over former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore to storm into the semifinals of the USD 475,000 Kumamoto Masters Japan in Kumamoto, Japan, on Friday.
India's title defence in the women's team event came to a disappointing end after a 0-3 loss to a second-string China in the quarter-finals of the Badminton Asia Team Championships.
Defending champions Indian women's team started its campaign at the Badminton Asia Team Championships on a resounding note, blanking Myanmar 5-0 in their opening Group Y tie in Qingdao, China on Wednesday.
Former champion Lakshya Sen produced a composed and tactical performance to advance to the quarterfinals of the $950,000 India Open Super 750 badminton tournament but Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy bowed out after a spirited show, in New Delhi, on Thursday.
Play was briefly interrupted during the women's doubles semifinal of the ongoing India Open Super 750 tournament on Saturday after some "particles from the bird's nest" fell on the court.
India Open badminton: "Bird droppings" interrupt Prannoy-Loh match, add to organisers' woes
India's women's and men's badminton teams suffered defeats in the Badminton Asia Team Championships, ending their campaigns in the quarterfinals. The women's team lost to China, while the men's team was defeated by Korea.
Earlier, former world No.1 Srikanth had to dig deep to outlast fellow Indian Tharun Mannepalli 15-21, 21-6, 21-19.
HS Prannoy's campaign ended in disappointment as he retired hurt due to an injury, while Ayush Shetty also bowed out as India's challenge at the Korea Masters Super 500 concluded on the opening day of the main draw in Suwon on Wednesday.
Lakshya Sen's title win, a World Championships medal from Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty offered hope amidst a difficult 2025 for Indian badminton.
Lakshya, the 2021 World Championships bronze medallist, eased past compatriot S Subramanian 21-14, 21-11, while Rakshitha overcame Shriyanshi Valishetty 19-21, 21-8, 21-13 in another all-Indian contest that clocked 58 minutes.
India's Ayush Shetty produced a sensational straight-game victory over former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore at the Orleans Masters.
Shetty, the lone surviving Indian in the tournament, will next face the winner of the other quarter-final between Chinese Taipei's Chia Hao Lee and second seed Chun-Yi Lin.
Shetty had earlier shocked former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in straight games in his opening round.
The other semi-final will feature France's Alex Lanier, who beat Taiwan's Wang Tzu-wei 21-19, 21-13, and Lee Chia-hao of Taiwan who defeated Japan's Kenta Nishimoto 21-9, 21-18.
India's Lakshya Sen came up with a spirited performance to overcome Hong Kong China's Angus Ng Ka Long in three games
However, it was curtains for Kiran George in the men's singles event as he lost 20-22, 6-21 against seventh seed Kenta Nishimoto of Japan.
Later, India's challenge came to a crashing halt after the women's doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand lost their quarterfinals.
The world number 18 Indian will now take on former world champion, Singapore's Loh Kean Yew in the second round.
While Sen needed just 40 minutes to advance Sameer Verma retired hurt against Indonesia's Shesar Hiren Rhustavito at the end of the second game when the scoreline reading 16-21, 21-12 in another men's singles match.
The World No. 10 Prannoy was the latest to be eliminated on a day when Sameer Verma, mixed doubles pair of Sikki Reddy and B Sumeeth Reddy along with women singles player Aakarshi Kashyap drew blanks.
Lakshya Sen upset World No 4 Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in the round of 32 match at the Malaysia Masters.
Srikanth got his act together in the nick of time and reeled off eight straight points to move to a 16-10 lead before keeping his calm to take the match to the decider.
With the main draw of the Asian Badminton Championships set to get underway from Wednesday, the struggling Indian shuttlers face an uphill task.
Lakshya Sen suffered a stunning first round exit as India's challenge came to an end in the German Open.
World No. 1 Yamaguchi, however, had to toil hard to get across three-time world champion and Rio gold medallist Carolina Marin of Spain 21-17, 14-21, 21-19 in the day's first match at the IG stadium in New Delhi.
The Indian will have yet another uphill task at hand when he takes on Axelsen, the baby-faced badminton giant, who has terrorised his opponents in the last few years.
HS Prannoy breezed into the quarter-finals with a stunning straight-game win over former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore but it was curtains for Kidambi Srikanth at the Japan Open Super 750 tournament.
In the upcoming German Open, Lakshya Sen will spearhead India's challenge at the Super 300 tournament.
Prannoy is only seeded Indian player at No. 7 in the men's singles draw of 32 as he will begin his campaign against Loh Kean Yew of Singapore, against whom the Indian has a 4-1 win-loss record.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday hailed Kidambi Srikanth's silver medal win in the World Badminton Championships, saying it will inspire several sportspersons and further interest in badminton.
Two players withdrawn from India Open due to COVID-19
Lakshya Sen mounted a remarkable comeback to become the first male Indian shuttler to qualify for the singles semi-finals at the Olympic Games.
Lakshya Sen, returning from a break, suffered a first round exit, while Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand entered the pre-quarters of the Asia Badminton Championship.
India's double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu cruised into the quarterfinals of the French Open badminton tournament with a straight-game win over Line Christophersen of Denmark in the women's singles second round in Paris. Sindhu, seeded third, prevailed 21-19, 21-9 over Christophersen, ranked 24th in the world, in 37 minutes late Thursday night.
Lakshya Sen and Kiran George advanced to the second round but HS Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth made early exits after suffering narrow losses in their respective opening matches at the Indonesia Masters Super 500 badminton tournament in Jakarta on Wednesday.
India's Lakshya Sen secured his maiden Super 500 title by winning the Yonex-Sunrise India Open with a stunning straight-game victory over reigning world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in the men's singles final in New Delhi on Sunday.
Check out how India's athletes fared on Day 7, Friday, August 2, 2024:
Placed at number 10 in the Race to Guanzhou rankings, Srikanth needed to win the tournament to have any hopes of qualifying for the season-ending World Tour Final in December.
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