Sindhu, Prannoy advance to second round of Singapore Open
Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen suffered a straight-games defeat to Japan's Kodai Naraoka in the men's singles quarter-finals as the curtain came down on India's campaign in the Denmark Open Super 750 tournament, in Odense, on Friday night.
India's men's singles campaign suffered a setback as none of the players could make it past the opening round on Day 2 of the India Open in New Delhi on Wednesday.
PV Sindhu overcame the first-round hurdle, defeating Julie Dawall Jakobsen of Denmark in straight games
P V Sindhu has been ruled out of action for the next few weeks after scans found a niggle in her left knee.
Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu and B Sai Praneeth moved into the quarter-finals of Japan Open badminton tournament after registering contrasting wins but it was curtains for H S Prannoy.
PV Sindhu is set to make a much-anticipated return to competitive badminton at the India Open Super 750 tournament after missing the season opener in Kuala Lumpur due to her wedding.
Indian women's doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri and Gayatri Gopichand also improved two spots to the 17th position.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, the Indian men's doubles badminton pair, have gained recognition for their speed, power, and height, earning praise from top international opponents.
In mixed doubles, Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila advanced to the second round with a 8-21, 21-19, 21-17 victory over Chinese Taipei's Chen Cheng Kuan and Hsu Yin-Hui.
Satwik-Chirag had lost each of the two semifinals in straight sets and their aim would be to go the distance in the upcoming tournament.
The Indian duo will take on Chinese Taipei's Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan in the final on Sunday.
Lee, 2019 Hong Kong open winner, had finished as runner-up in the last edition and his dream of winning the title remained unfulfilled after he went down in the final for the second time in two years.
London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal, on the other hand, moved one place to 31st.
H S Prannoy dished out another splendid show to progress to the quarter-finals with a thrilling win over Indonesia's Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo.
Denmark's Viktor Axelsen and Japan's Akane Yamaguchi's dominance continued as they stayed on course for a second successive title.
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu faltered in the deciding game to lose to World No. 8 Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand in the women's singles second round of the Indonesia Open Super 1000 badminton tournament in Jakarta on Thursday.
Lakshya Sen is aware that his Olympic qualification is still in choppy waters but said he has been working on his "variations" and "deceptions" during the off-season to regain his world's top-10 position and seal his Paris Games berth.
However, Birmingham Commonwealth Games bronze medallists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand bowed out of the tournament after losing their opening women's doubles match in straight games.
Star Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen will have a new coach after the Paris Olympics, said his mentor and former India coach Vimal Kumar, who has taken over the duties till the Summer Games.
After the change of ends, the Indians gathered themselves and turned it around as they broke off from 4-4. Satwik and Chirag won 7 of the last 8 points to grab a six-point advantage at the interval.
Sindhu, Lakshya win openers; Sai Praneeth loses in US Open
Fellow Indian Kidambi Srikanth also jumped two places to sit at the 12th spot, while Lakshya Sen continued to be the best-placed Indian male shuttler at world number 9.
B Sumeeth Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa, however, suffered a 21-23, 21-13, 12-21 loss against Korean pair of Song hyun Cho and Lee Jung Hyun in their mixed doubles opening round.
The former world number one duo had been sidelined from competitive action post the Paris Olympics due to Satwik's shoulder injury.
Intanon still holds on to the dream of an Olympic medal.
World No 8 Sen zoomed to an early 5-1 lead before dashing to 11-3 at the mid-game break. He kept moving ahead as Prannoy's game crumbled.
Kidambi Srikanth's opening round match ended in agony as he retired due to a knee injury after lagging 14-21, 3-11 against Japan's fifth seed Kodai Naraoka.
The top seeded Indian duo, who reached the semi-finals of the season-opening Malaysia Open super 1000, was scheduled to face Chinese Taipei's Su Ching Heng and Ye Hong Wei in the opening round.
Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu and Kiran George advanced to the quarterfinals of the India Open Super 750 badminton tournament.
Kidambi Srikanth made a winning start but PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy were ousted
Jia Min was happy to execute her plan but acknowledged that her opponent was not at her best shape.
Chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand on Monday singled out world number one doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty as favourites for an Olympic medal and said two-time medallist PV Sindhu too is on the right path and can deliver once again at the Paris Games.
Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila outclassed Adnan Maulana and Indah Cahya Sari Jamil in straight games in the first round match.
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.
Danish badminton player Mia Blichfeldt has criticized the playing conditions at the India Open Super 750 tournament in New Delhi, citing pollution, dirt and bird droppings. She also said she contracted a stomach infection during the event, which she attributed to the poor conditions. The Badminton Association of India (BAI) has acknowledged logistical challenges in hosting the event and is looking for alternative venues. This isn't the first time foreign players have raised concerns about playing conditions at badminton events in India.
Sen has a 4-2 head-to-head record against his final opponent Li Shi Feng, the reigning All-England champion. Sen had defeated him recently at the Thailand Open.
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.
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.
Lakshya Sen progressed to the quarter-finals of the China Masters Super 750 badminton tournament with a straight-games win, but two-time Olympics medallist PV Sindhu's campaign ended in the second round in Shenzhen, China, on Thursday.
