India Open: Srikanth crashes out, Malvika’s loss ends women’s singles campaign

Former India Open champion Kidambi Srikanth’s run at the BWF India Open came to an end on Thursday after he was beaten by France’s Christo Popov in the round of 16 at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex here.

The former world No. 1 went down 14-21, 21-17, 17-21 in a closely fought contest that stretched beyond an hour. Srikanth struggled in the opening game but responded strongly in the second, playing with greater control and composure to level the match. Popov, however, stepped up in the decider, stayed more consistent in the closing stages and sealed the match with a 21-17 win.

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The defeat marked the 2021 world championships silver medallist’s first loss to Popov in their three career meetings. The French shuttler has been in impressive form, having created history last December by becoming the first player from France to win the World Tour Finals 2025 after defeating reigning world champion Shi Yu Qi in the final.

Srikanth had reached the second round with a hard-fought victory over fellow Indian Tharun Mannepalli on Wednesday. After losing the opening game 15-21, he bounced back strongly to win 21-6, 21-19, marking his return to a Super 750 event for the first time since Singapore in May 2025.

Meanwhile, India’s women’s singles campaign concluded on Thursday with Malvika Bansod exiting the tournament following a straight-game loss to China’s Han Yue, 18-21, 15-21. Earlier, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu had crashed out in the opening round after suffering a three-game defeat to Vietnam’s Nguyen Thuy Linh, 20-22, 21-12, 21-15.

Bansod had earlier kept Indian interest alive by beating Chinese Taipei’s Pai Yu-po 21-18, 21-19, but was unable to carry that momentum into the second round.

In men’s singles, HS Prannoy, the world championships bronze medallist, progressed past the first round with a 22-20, 21-18 win over Hong Kong China’s Lee Cheuk Yiu in a 41-minute encounter on Wednesday.

India’s leading men’s doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy also advanced to the second round after receiving a walkover against USA’s Chen Zhi Yi and Presley Smith.

However, it was a disappointing outing for the Indian mixed doubles contingent, with all three pairs bowing out in the opening round. Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh were beaten 21-15, 21-7 by Japan’s Yuichi Shimogami and Sayaka Hobara. Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde went down 21-19, 21-14 to Germany’s Marvin Seidel and Thuc Phuong Nguyen, while Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto lost 21-15, 21-14 to Thailand’s Pakkapon Teeraratsakul and Sapsiree Taerattanachai.