P V Sindhu and the men's doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty sailed into the quarter-finals of the China Masters tournament with straight-game wins, in Shenzhen, on Thursday.
P V Sindhu bowed out, while H S Prannoy and Lakshya Sen scored hard-fought wins to advance in the Hong Kong Open Super 500 tournament.
A fast and fluent Lakshya Sen ended a difficult stretch on the international circuit by defeating Japan's Yushi Tanaka in the men's singles final of the US $475,000 Australian Open Super 500 and clinching his first title of the season, in Sydney, on Sunday.
Ayush stuns Naraoka to join Satwik-Chirag, Lakshya in quarterfinals at Hong Kong Open
Later in the day, Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen will face Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo of Indonesia.
Satwik and his doubles partner Chirag Shetty, who had claimed the Commonwealth Games silver in 2018 and won the Thailand Open Super 500 last year, were recommended for the Arjuna Award jointly.
The 24-year-old from Amalapuram expressed his gratitude to his partner for being there during this challenging time.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty's campaign at the India Open Super 750 badminton tournament ended in the semi-finals after they were outplayed by Malaysia's Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin in New Delhi on Saturday.
Indian doubles coach Tan Kim Her praised Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty for winning a bronze medal at the World Championships but rued the missed opportunity, saying the doubles specialists need to work more on their fitness to go the distance.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty became the first Indian pair to win a BWF Super 500 badminton tournament with a hard-fought victory over Li Jun Hui and Liu Yu Chen of China in the final of Thailand Open.
Indian badminton stars Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were on Tuesday nominated for the Player Year of the Award by the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
Ashwini and Tanisha, who won the Guwahati Masters super 100 title, last month will take on Malaysia's Pei Kee Go and Mei Xing Teoh next.
India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty outclassed Hiroyuki Endo and Yuta Watanabe of Japan in straight games to enter the men's doubles final at the French Open.
Sindhu regained control in the decider, maintaining a steady lead to close out the contest and secure a hard-fought win in 62 minutes.
The former world number one duo had been sidelined from competitive action post the Paris Olympics due to Satwik's shoulder injury.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the quarter-finals, while H S Prannoy's valiant fight ended in a narrow second round loss at the Malaysia Super 1000 badminton tournament.
Indian shuttlers handed tough draws, Lakshya Sen to face world No 1 Shi Yu Qi in opener
New Delhi has been chosen as the host city of the next Badminton World Championships in August 2026, the sport's global governing body BWF announced on Monday.
Rankireddy and Shetty, who created history on Sunday by becoming the first Indian men's doubles pair to win a BWF Super 500 tournament, are placed ninth in the men's doubles rankings issued on Tuesday.
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.
Despite the name, Indian success at the tournament hasn't been particularly regular with none from the host nation winning any title in the past two editions.
A gold medallist at the 37th National Games, Mannepalli was trailing 4-7 in the first game before rallying to 12-9. He then took control and scored six straight points from 15-11 to seal the game.
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.
With the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics as their primary target, Satwik and Chirag are determined to make a strong comeback and secure a medal.
In women's singles, double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu also dropped one place and is now ranked 16th.
The Indian men's doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty bowed out in the semifinals of the China Masters Super 750 badminton tournament
In women's singles, Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist and 2019 world champion, will have to recover from the shock defeat against fellow Indian Unnati Hooda at the China Open.
The Chirag-Satwik pair won the Thailand Open in May to reclaim the No.1 ranking but suffered loss of form and made a first-round exit from the Singapore Open last month.
P V Sindhu knows how to win big tournaments, but as she enters her 30s, the two-time Olympic medallist must be selective about which competitions she chooses to go "all out" in, feels London Games bronze winner Saina Nehwal.
Former World No 1 doubles shuttler Chirag Shetty termed the exclusion of badminton from the 2026 Commonwealth Games curriculum a wrong decision.
Satwik-Chirag suffer shock defeat in opening round of Singapore Open
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty's historic title triumph at the Indonesia Open came against their nemesis Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, who had beaten them in their previous eight matches.
The Indian duo will take on Chinese Taipei's Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan in the final on Sunday.
Satwik and Chirag will next face third-seeds Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia.
A medal prospect at the upcoming Paris Olympics, the men's doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty say they are well equipped to handle the pressure of expectations.
The Indian combination of Satwik and Chirag will play the Chinese pair of Xie Hao Nan and Zeng Wei Han in the next round.
While India have never won the gold at the Asia Mixed Team Championships, they did secure mixed team gold and silver at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 and 2022.
The top-seeded Indian pair lost in straight games against Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Bagas Maulana of Indonesia in Birmingham on Thursday.
Manu Bhaker and partner Sarabjot Singh will compete in the 10m air pistol mixed team bronze medal play-off match on Tuesday.
A look at India's schedule at the Paris Olympics on Monday, July 29, 2024:
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