India cruised to a 3-0 win over minnows South Africa to progress to the semifinals
Top shuttler B Sai Praneeth and doubles player Dhruv Rawat have already pulled out after testing positive in the pre-departure testing.
Star Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth will look to arrest their slump in form when they begin their campaign at the Australia Open badminton tournament in Sydney on Tuesday.
Lakshya Sen outsmarted reigning World champion Loh Kean Yew as India displayed its might to blank Singapore 3-0 and enter the mixed team badminton final at the Commonwealth Games, in Birmingham, on Monday.
The win ensured Srikanth's dominance over his younger countrymate as he took his head-to-head record to 3-0 over Lakshya.
India's double Olympics medallist P V Sindhu continued her impressive run at the French Open badminton tournament, sailing into the women's singles semi-finals with a straight-game win over Thailand's Busanan Ongbamrungphan, in Paris, on Friday. Sindhu, seeded third, scripted a convincing 21-14, 21-14 win over eighth seeded in 38 minutes to extend her head-to-head record against the Thai to 14-1.
No Indians featured in the women's doubles and mixed doubles rankings.
Sen, who had emulated his mentor Prakash Padukone by winning the World championship bronze in Huelva, Spain last month, will now look to claim the All England Championships in March.
Besides Srikanth, the other players withdrawn are Ashwini Ponnappa, Ritika Rahul Thkar, Treesa Jolly, Mithun Manjunath, Simran Aman Singh and Khushi Gupta.
The star Indian pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy will be the key attraction in the men's doubles category. However, they are set to face a stiff competition as the line-up includes the three-time world champion and world No. 2 Indonesian duo of Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan alongside another Indonesian pair of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto, who are currently ranked eighth in the world.
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.
India's HS Prannoy showed nerves of steel, advancing to his third successive quarterfinals at the World Championships.
20-year-old Malvika Bansod, ranked 111th, took 34 minutes to register a straight games victory against former World No 1 Saina Nehwal.
His backhand blocks and forehand low returns reaped dividends but an alert Gemke managed to grab a four-point cushion at the interval.
P V Sindhu and Lakshya Sen sailed into the second round but it was curtains for Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth on a mixed day for India at the French Open Super 750 badminton tournament in Paris on Wednesday.
World championship bronze medallist Lakshya Sen entered his maiden World Tour Super 500 summit clash on Saturday with a come-from-behind win over Malaysia's Ng Tze Yong at the Yonex-Sunrise India Open in New Delhi.
Srikanth fought better in the second, but Yew was too good on the day, to emerge triumphant.
Already through to the quarter-finals, defending champions India continued their rampaging run as they beat Australia 4-1 in their final group A match of mixed team competition at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Young Indian shuttler Ashmita Chaliha recorded the first upset of the India Open when she stunned fifth seed Evgeniya Kosetskaya while top seed P V Sindhu sailed into the women's singles second round of the tournament, in Delhi, on Tuesday.
'Lot of things to learn from this, so definitely I will work on this and try and get better for next tournaments.'
Here's a look at Indian athletes' performance on Monday, Day 4 of the Games.
Sen, a product of the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, has been in the form of his life for about a year now.
Star shuttlers, including P V Sindhu, will chase individual gold medals but doubles would also under the spotlight as India would aim to retain the mixed team title and continue their consistent run at the Commonwealth Games.
World Championships bronze medallist Lakshya Sen and men's doubles combination of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy registered contrasting victories to reach their first Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2022 final, while PV Sindhu was knocked out, in New Delhi on Saturday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
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