Sindhu, Lakshya win openers; Sai Praneeth loses in US Open
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty stormed into the men's doubles semifinal with a straight-game win over Indonesia's Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin at the China Masters Super 750.
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.
The duo is aiming for top-30 ranking and continued success in bigger tournaments.
Fresh from their Korea Open triumph, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will look to continue their dream run.
Prannoy is only seeded Indian player at No. 7 in the men's singles draw of 32 as he will begin his campaign against Loh Kean Yew of Singapore, against whom the Indian has a 4-1 win-loss record.
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.
Statistically, Khaleel Ahmed ranks among the finest bowlers in the IPL since 2019, his first full-fledged season. With a wicket every 16.5 balls, he is as good as Jasprit Bumrah and bowlers with the best strike rates.
Both Sen and Srikanth are fighting to be inside the top 16 by April 28 next year to qualify for the Paris Olympics.
Prannoy registered a 21-18, 22-20 win over the world number 12 Chen
Lakshya Sen and Kiran George advanced to the second round but HS Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth made early exits after suffering narrow losses in their respective opening matches at the Indonesia Masters Super 500 badminton tournament in Jakarta on Wednesday.
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.
Srikanth's Malaysia run shows he belongs at the top
Jia Min was happy to execute her plan but acknowledged that her opponent was not at her best shape.
London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal made another first-round exit, losing 15-21, 8-21 to Thailand's fourth seed Busanan Ongbamrungphan in the women's singles event.
Indian Mithun Manjunath stunned fourth seed and world number seven Kean Yew Loh of Singapore in the opening round while PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth secured straight-game wins.
In the men's doubles, seventh-seeded Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty beat the Malaysian duo of Man Wei Chong and Kai Wun Tee 21-16 21-14 in a round of 16 match, that lasted 40 minutes.
Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, who hasn't played any tournament since the Birmingham Games due to an ankle injury, is now world number five after moving up a spot.
London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal, on the other hand, moved one place to 31st.
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.
P V Sindhu and Aakarshi Kashyap advanced to the women's singles second round at the Denmark Open Super 750 badminton tournament.
Sindhu had beaten world number 18 Zhang in the Malaysian Open quarter-finals in May this year but the Chinese avenged that defeat and also made the lifetime win-loss record to 3-2 against the Indian.
However, it was curtains for former Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap after he went down 10-21 19-21 to Denmark's Hans-Kristian Solberg Vittinghus.
It was yet another creditable performance from the Indian pair, which had claimed its maiden Super 1000 crown at the Indonesia Open last June.
Indian badminton stalwarts P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal suffered contrasting fortunes at the Malaysia Open Super 750 tournament, the former progressing to the second round and the latter bowing out after losing her opener in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Wednesday.
The double Olympic medallist is looking forward to better results following her first round exit from the Malaysian Open.
This was the third title for the Indian duo -- they had clinched the Abu Dhabi Masters Super 100 and Nantes International Challenge this year.
Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen continued to be the best-placed Indian at number seven while former world no. 1 Kidambi Srikanth gained a rung to the 11th position.
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.
The Indonesian had defeated Sindhu twice in the last three meetings this year, including one at the Madrid Spain Masters final, though the Indian came into the match with an overall 8-2 head-to-head record.
Star Indian shuttler HS Prannoy has pulled out of the Denmark Open Super 750 tournament due to a back injury that troubled him during his maiden bronze medal-winning run at the recently-concluded Asian Games.
The complete list of players sold in the IPL 2025 Auction in Jeddah.
Former India skipper Virat Kohli, four-time grand slam winner Naomi Osaka of Japan and decorated gymnast Simon Biles of the USA, are some of the star athletes who have been candid about their struggles with mental health.
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.
Facing each other for the first time in seven months after their heated Denmark Open semifinal clash, the double Olympic medalist Indian reeled off five successive points to take the opening game.
Former champion PV Sindhu progressed to the women's singles second round but Lakshya Sen went down fighting to world number one Viktor Axelsen at the Singapore Open Super 750 badminton tournament in Singapore on Wednesday.
LSG set MI 204 to win and the visitors fell short by 12 runs. Here are best bowlers of the night...
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty staged a grand comeback after losing the opening game to beat top seeds Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto of Indonesia in the final and win the Korea Open Super 500 badminton tournament, in Yeosu, 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.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty entered the final of the Korea Open Super 500 badminton tournament with a thrilling straight-games victory over the world No.2 Chinese pair of Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, in Yeosu, on Saturday.
