India Open 2023 | India's star shuttler PV Sindhu has made an early exit from the tournament after suffering a loss in the first round. She lost in straight games. Meanwhile, Lakshya Sen has defeated HS Prannoy in his opening round.
Siddharth took just 27 minutes to shock Sheng 21-17 21-4 in a lop-sided second-round match, while Subhankar defeated Kalaga 21-18 21-10.
The Indian pair had lost thrice to the world number 2 Indonesian pair in four meetings but they came up with a plan to extend the rallies and play a more defensive game against the experienced pair.
In a repeat of last year's Dutch Open final, the Indian ensured that he had the last laugh this time around.
The world no 10 Indian pair, which had won its first Super 500 tournament in Thailand in 2019, upset the top seeded Indonesian pair 21-16 26-24 in 43 minutes to make a rampaging start to the new season.
Young Aakarshi Kashyap too had a golden chance but she squandered five-game points in the opening game to allow Busanan register a 26-24 21-9 win in the other women's singles semifinal.
Top seed Sindhu, a former world champion, got the better of compatriot Ashmita Chaliha 21-7 21-18 in 36 minutes, while Sen rallied his way to a hard-fought 14-21 21-9 21-14 victory over H S Prannoy in another all-Indian quarterfinals.
Former champion and 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Saina suffered a 17-21 9-21 straight game loss to compatriot Malvika Bansod.
The others who tested positive for Covid-19 were doubles specialist Ashwini Ponnappa, Ritika Rahul Thakkar, Treesa Jolly, Mithun Manjunath, Simran Singhi, and Khushi Gupta.
A lot of ranking points will be up for grabs at the USD 400,000 Super 500 tournament which is being held in the looming shadows of a raging third wave of the pandemic in the country with cases rising at a rapid speed, fueled by the new Omicron variant.
Badminton Association of India (BAI) general secretary Ajay Singhania has also confirmed Praneeth's withdrawal from the USD 400,000 tournament.
The USD 400,000 India Open was scheduled to be held behind closed doors in the national capital from May 11 to 16.
Olympic champion Carolina Marin and World No. 1 Kento Momota will headline a star-studded field of international badminton stars.
BAI general secretary Ajay Singhania met sports minister Kiren Rijiju to chalk out a plan for conducting the USD 400,000 India Open event, which is scheduled to be held from March 30 to April 4 at the Indira Gandhi Stadium.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) had last week sent a letter to BAI, asking it for a slot to conduct the BWF World Tour Super 500 tournament, which was suspended last month along with the other Tokyo Games qualifiers due to the coronavirus outbreak.
In a joint statement, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) and Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Wednesday said that the tournament will be held as per schedule.
Ankit and Manish Kaushik also had 5-0 wins over their respective opponents making it a three-Indian lineup in the 60kg category.
The 48kg weight category is no longer there in the Olympic Games and the diminutive Manipuri will have to fight in the higher 51kg class if she wants to compete in next year's Tokyo Games.
Mary Kom had opted out of the Asian Championships last month in order to prepare for the World Championships as the event will serve as good preparatory ground for Olympic qualification.
World number 6 Sindhu will next face China's Cai Yanyan, a 2017 BWF World Junior Championships bronze medallist.
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