India Open badminton: "Bird droppings" interrupt Prannoy-Loh match, add to organisers' woes
'I'm still here, still able to play against somebody who is 14 years younger to me and give tough competition, I should be able to find happiness in it.'
'Once you are out of the top 32, it becomes very tough to get back. Last year I couldn't really get entries into the 750 tournaments. To start this year with one is a positive step.'
World No. 32 Ayush, who claimed his maiden Super 300 title at the US Open earlier this year, dismissed Canada's Sam Yuan 21-11, 21-15 in 33 minutes.
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.
Earlier, former world No.1 Srikanth had to dig deep to outlast fellow Indian Tharun Mannepalli 15-21, 21-6, 21-19.
But it was end of the road for Sen's compatriot Kiran George, who lost 20-22, 10-21 to Malaysia's Jing Hong Kok.
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.
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.
Sen, 26, who had made it to the Hong Kong Open final but has gone without a title this year, had a tough time beating Shetty in the opening game.
Star Indian shuttlers Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty entered the men's doubles second round with a tough straight-game win over Chinese Taipei's Chang Ko-Chi and Po Li-Wei at the Australian Open Super 500 tournament in Sydney on Tuesday.
yush Shetty and former World championships bronze medallist Lakshya Sen advanced in the Australian Open in contrasting fashion to set up an all-Indian quarterfinal clash.
Tanvi Sharma stuns Okuhara, Manraj Singh oust Prannoy to make quarters.
Prannoy saves five match points to progress, Lakshya Sen exits China Open
This was their third semifinal appearance on the BWF Tour this season, having earlier reached the last four at the Singapore Open and India Open.
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.
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.
Chirag and his longtime partner Satwiksairaj Rankireddy won the men's doubles bronze last week
India's lack of bench strength was exposed as they suffered a crushing 1-4 defeat against Denmark in their opening Group D match at the BWF Sudirman Cup Finals.
Seventeen-year-old Unnati, champion at the 2022 Odisha Masters and 2023 Abu Dhabi Masters, was no match for world No. 2 and top seed Pornpawee Chochuwong, going down 14-21, 11-21 in just 39 minutes.
Prannoy fought back to level at 13-13, but Popov surged ahead as the Indian crumbled.
Sindhu, Lakshya to head India's campaign at Asian C'ships
This is the first time that Sindhu has lost to a fellow Indian in an international event in seven years.
Shetty had earlier shocked former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in straight games in his opening round.
This is Sindhu's third consecutive first round loss.
India's Ayush Shetty produced a sensational straight-game victory over former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore at the Orleans Masters.
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.
Star Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen will spearhead a strong contingent at the USD 250,000 Swiss Open, beginning on Tuesday, aiming to regain top form.
He will next face Le Duc Phat of Vietnam on Wednesday in the second and final group match.
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.
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-16 in the world by April-end will make the cut for the Olympics.
It's a demoralising loss for especially considering Japan did not field their full-strength team, with several top players absent.
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.
Indian women's doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri and Gayatri Gopichand also improved two spots to the 17th position.
Treesa and Gayatri will be up against fourth-seeded Japanese pair of Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida in the semi-finals on Saturday.
The women's doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand lost to top seeds Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan of China 18-21, 11-21.
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.
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