Indian shuttlers had a rollercoaster start at the India Open Super 750 in New Delhi on Tuesday, with notable victories for PV Sindhu and the men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. However, the women’s doubles duo of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand suffered an early exit, adding to a mixed day for the host nation.
Sindhu’s Comeback Victory
After skipping the Malaysia Open Super 1000 due to her wedding, PV Sindhu returned to action with a gritty performance against Chinese Taipei’s Sung Shuo Yun. Despite looking rusty initially, Sindhu won 21-14, 22-20 to reach the second round.
“After a long break, it’s always difficult to find the rhythm, but I am happy to have won the match in straight games,” Sindhu said. She will next face Japan’s Manami Suizu in her quest for the title.
Satwik-Chirag Duo Survives Scare
The men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, seeded seventh, faced a tough challenge from Malaysia’s world No. 7 duo Man Wei Chong and Kai Wun Tee. The Indians eventually triumphed 23-21, 19-21, 21-16, sealing the match after two critical net errors from their opponents in the decider.
“They defended quite well, and it was very difficult to penetrate,” Chirag remarked after the match. “But we are happy we could come back in the third.”
Kiran George Stuns Japan’s Tanaka
Kiran George, a trainee at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, delivered one of the day’s most thrilling performances. Facing Japan’s world No. 25 Yushi Tanaka, Kiran prevailed 21-19, 14-21, 27-25 after saving three match points in a nail-biting contest.
“Even today, things got difficult, but I managed to keep my composure and pull through,” Kiran said. He will next face either fourth seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn or Alex Lanier.
Disappointments for Treesa-Gayatri and Others
The women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, seeded fifth, suffered a 21-23, 19-21 defeat to Japan’s Arisa Igarashi and Ayako Sakuramoto. Similarly, Amrutha Pramuthesh and Sonali Singh bowed out against a Thai duo, while other Indian doubles pairs also failed to advance.
In men’s singles, former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth withdrew, handing a walkover to China’s Weng Hong Yang.
Mixed Doubles Success
Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila advanced to the second round with a 8-21, 21-19, 21-17 win over Chinese Taipei’s Chen Cheng Kuan and Hsu Yin-Hui. Former national champions Ashwini Bhat and Shikha Gautam also progressed in women’s doubles.
As the tournament unfolds, Indian shuttlers will look to build on these early results and push for deeper runs in their respective categories.
