Changing the tempo: Srikanth took complete control of the second game forcing his opponent Tharun to commit errors.
| Photo Credit: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
Two former World Championship medallists and local favourites, both trying to get back to the top of their game, had contrasting outings at the India Open Super 750 on Wednesday here, with P.V. Sindhu crashing out in the opening round and K. Srikanth digging deep to advance into the second round.
Sindhu was unable to get going against Vietnam’s Thuy Linh Nguyen despite taking a close opening game 22-20 and lost in 68 minutes. Sindhu kept dropping points, unable to counter her opponent’s net play. This was Nguyen’s third straight win against the higher-ranked Sindhu.
Srikanth initally struggled against compatriot Tharun Mannepalli, who made the main draw as a reserve player only on the eve of the tournament. Tharun started on an attacking note and upped the tempo halfway through the opening game, reeling off five straight points to take lead but never relinquished.
The second game saw Srikanth take complete control by mixing his pace and with deceptive shots and soft drops at the net, forcing Tharun to go wider and commit errors.
Meanwhile, 17-year-old Tanvi Sharma lost to World No. 2 Zhi Yi Wang 20-22, 21-18, 13-21. Tanvi, who held a game point at 20-18 in the opening game and matched her opponent both on strokes and game play to take the second, ran out of steam towards the end but proved she had the game to match the best. Elsewhere, H.S. Prannoy beat Cheuk Yiu Lee of Hong Kong 22-20, 21-18 and the doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy got a walkover from Zhi Yi Chen and Presley Smith of USA.
Antonsen blames pollution for pull-out
A day after Danish player Mia Blichfeldt complained of the conditions at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, her compatriot and World. No. 3 Anders Antonsen too put up a social media post, blaming Delhi’s pollution for pulling out of the competition.
“Many are curious as to why I have pulled out of the India Open for the third consecutive year. Due to the extreme pollution in Delhi at the moment I don’t think it’s a place to host a badminton tournament. As a result BWF once again has fined me $5000,” Antonsen posted along with a screen shot of Delhi’s AQI levels at a hazardous 345.
Interestingly, while the post was made on Wednesday, Antonsen had already withdrawn from the competition more than two weeks ago, even before participating in the Malaysia Open, claiming medical reasons but the BWF had rejected the same.
Important results:
Men: Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Tha) bt Koki Watanabe (Jpn) 21-19, 23-25, 21-10; Kidambi Srikanth bt Tharun Mannepalli 15-21, 21-6, 21-19; HS Prannoy bt Cheuk Yiu Lee (Hkg) 22-20, 21-18; Doubles: Chirag Shetty/Satwiksairaj Rankireddy bt Zhi Yi Chen/Presley Smith (USA) w/o; Aaron Chia/Wooi Yik Soh (Mas) bt Aaron Tai/Khai Xing Kang (Mas) 21-12, 11-6 ret.
Women: Chen Yu Fei (Chn) bt Hsiang Ti Lin (Tpe) 21-17, 21-17; Malvika Bansod bt Yu Po Pai (Tpe) 21-18, 21-19; An Se Young (Kor) bt Nozomi Okuhara (Jpn) 21-17, 21-9; Thuy Linh Nguyen (Vie) bt PV Sindhu 20-22, 21-12, 21-15; Zhi Yi Wang (Chn) bt Tanvi Sharma 22-20, 18-21, 21-13; Doubles: Nanako Hara/Riko Kiyose (Jpn) bt Rutuparna Panda/Swetaparna Panda 21-8, 21-18; Ha Na Baek/So Hee Lee (Kor) bt Gayatri Rawat/Mansa Rawat 21-5, 21-8; Ashwini Bhat/Shikha Gautam vs Margot Lambert/Camille Pognante (Fra) 21-18, 21-16; Pearly Tan/ Thinaah Muralitharan (Mas) bt Kavipriya Selvam/Simran Singhi 21-18, 21-6.
Mixed: Pakkapol Teeraratsakul/Sapsiree Taerattanachai (Tha) bt Dhruv Kapila/Tanisha Crasto 21-15, 21-14.
Published – January 15, 2026 12:53 am IST
