Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu survived some tense moments before progressing to the women's singles second round, but it was curtains for Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth in the men's singles at the Badminton Asia Championships, in Ningbo, China, on Wednesday.
Reigning World champion and title favourite P V Sindhu sailed into the pre-quarter-finals at the China Open Super 1000 tournament with a convincing straight-games victory over former Olympic gold medallist Li Xuerui, in Changzhou, on Wednesday.
While Olympic and two-time World Championship silver medallist, Sindhu stamped her authority with a 21-12, 21-15 win over Thailand's Busanan Ongbamrungphan in the second round, Srikanth got the better off Indonesia's Tommy Sugiarto in a three-game match.
Besides Srikanth, the other players withdrawn are Ashwini Ponnappa, Ritika Rahul Thkar, Treesa Jolly, Mithun Manjunath, Simran Aman Singh and Khushi Gupta.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.
Former World champion P V Sindhu needed 36 minutes to get the better of the 21-year-old Chaliha 21-7, 21-18 and set up a last-four meeting with Thailand's Supanida Katethong.
Sindhu looked in complete control as she prevailed 21-15, 21-11 over world No. 36 Tan in a 29-minute match.
India will take on traditional powerhouse China in the final match on Wednesday.
World champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn crashed out of the India Open Super 750 badminton tournament
An Indian team which is a nice little blend of youth and experience, will have to punch above its weight in what's going to be an arduous challenge in the Sudirman Cup mixed team championships here on Sunday.
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.
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.
Jia Min was happy to execute her plan but acknowledged that her opponent was not at her best shape.
Both enter finals in Singles of the Swiss Open
India's top shuttler P V Sindhu is targetting peak form during the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games this year to ensure that she clinches the two titles missing from her cabinet.
Satwik and Ashwini, who reached the semi-finals at Toyota Thailand Open Super 1000 in January, will meet the winner of the match between fifth-seeded Malaysians Tan Kian Meng and Lai Pei Jing and Germany's Jones Ralfy Jansen and Kilasu Ostermeyer.
Top shuttler B Sai Praneeth and doubles player Dhruv Rawat have already pulled out after testing positive in the pre-departure testing.
Saina showed signs of regaining her form on her way to a sensational win over Chinese world number 9 He Bing Jiao
Indonesian coach Agus Dwi Santoso has been roped in to guide the singles players -- both men and women -- ahead of Tokyo Olympics. Badminton Association of India (BAI) secretary, Ajay Singhania said the visa process has started and Santoso is likely to join the Indian team in the mid of next month.
Nehwal has had a troubled run in this year as she has now faced exits from a tournament in the first round five times.
Now all eyes are on the two Super 1000 events -- Yonex Thailand Open (January 12-17) and Toyota Thailand Open (January 19-24) as the world's best return to action following a prolonged break.
P V Sindhu will be eager to return to the podium as former winner Saina Nehwal looks to regain her touch
Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu celebrated her 23rd birthday with a straight-game win over Japan's Aya Ohori to enter the quarter-finals of the $1,250,000 Indonesia Open BWF World Tour Super 1000 tournament.
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.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
The 24-year-old from Hyderabad will begin her campaign against China's Li Xuerui, a former Olympic gold medallist and World No 1.
Rising India shuttler P V Sindhu clinched the Asia Youth Under-19 Championship title with a thrilling three-game victory over Japan's Okuhara Nozomi at Gimcheon, Korea on Saturday.
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