Former champion Kidambi Srikanth was defeated by Frenchman Christo Popov in the round of 16 at the BWF India Open. Srikanth, a former world No. 1 and 2021 World Championships silver medallist, lost the match 14-21, 21-17, 17-21 after a tough battle lasting over an hour at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex.
Srikanth, despite losing the opening game 14-21, displayed resilience in the second game, winning it 21-17. However, Popov dominated the deciding game, maintaining composure in the closing stages to secure a 21-17 victory. This defeat marked Srikanth’s first loss to Popov in their third encounter.
In other matches, India’s campaign in the women’s singles category concluded with Malvika Bansod’s defeat to Chinese shuttler Han Yue in straight games, 18-21, 15-21. Meanwhile, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu was eliminated in the opening round after a close match against Vietnam’s Nguyen Thuy Linh, with a score of 20-22, 21-12, 21-15.
Indian shuttler HS Prannoy, a bronze medallist at the World Championships, secured a victory in his first-round match against Lee Cheuk Yiu from Hong Kong, China, with a score of 22-20, 21-18. Additionally, India’s top men’s doubles pair, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, advanced to the second round with a walkover against Chen Zhi Yi and Presley Smith of the USA.
However, all three Indian mixed doubles pairs faced defeats in their first-round matches. Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh lost to Japan’s Yuichi Shimogami and Sayaka Hobara, while Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde were beaten by Marvin Seidel and Thuc Phuong Nguyen of Germany. Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto also suffered a loss against Thailand’s Pakkapon Teeraratsakul and Sapsiree Taerattanachai.
