Srikanth Fights Back to Reach Canada Open Round of 16; Mixed Day for Indian Shuttlers

Kidambi Srikanth displayed his trademark resilience to advance to the Round of 16 at the Canada Open 2025, a BWF World Tour Super 300 event, after overcoming fellow Indian and seventh seed Priyanshu Rajawat in a thrilling three-game opener on Wednesday. The seasoned campaigner edged past his younger compatriot 18-21, 21-19, 21-14 in 53 minutes at the Markham Pan Am Centre in Ontario.

Srikanth, a former world No. 1, lost the first game but used his experience and tactical maturity to claw his way back, taking the next two games with clever shot placement and improved court coverage. He will next face Wang Po-Wei of Chinese Taipei for a spot in the quarterfinals.

In another all-Indian clash, recent US Open champion and fifth seed Ayush Shetty fell to Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian, 23-21, 21-12. After a closely contested first game, Sankar raised his level to dominate the second. He will now meet Huang Yu Kai of Chinese Taipei in the next round.

There were contrasting fortunes for Indian women in singles. Shriyanshi Valishetty pulled off a significant upset, beating seventh-seeded Ukrainian Polina Buhrova 21-18, 22-20. The young Indian kept her nerve in a tight second game to seal a memorable victory. She will now face Malaysia’s Karupathevan Letshanaa in the second round.

However, Tanya Hemanth endured heartbreak, failing to convert two match points against third seed Sung Shuo Yun from Chinese Taipei. After winning the first game, Hemanth came agonisingly close in the second but eventually lost 15-21, 24-22, 21-18. Ira Sharma, meanwhile, couldn’t find her rhythm and went down 21-9, 21-14 to Bulgaria’s Kaloyana Nalbantova.

In mixed doubles, India’s top-seeded pair Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto suffered a surprise straight-games defeat to Spain’s Ruben Garcia and Lucia Rodriguez. The Spanish duo prevailed 21-15, 21-19 in a match where the Indians struggled to build momentum.

As the Canada Open progresses, Srikanth and Sankar remain India’s leading hopes in the men’s singles draw, while Shriyanshi Valishetty’s breakthrough performance offers a bright spot in an otherwise mixed outing for India’s badminton contingent.