Daijiworld Media Network - Singapore

Singapore, May 26: Indian badminton stars P V Sindhu and the men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty began their campaign at the Singapore Open on a winning note at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Tuesday.

Two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu advanced to the next round after defeating Indonesia’s Putri Kusuma Wardani 21-17, 21-18 in the women’s singles opening round.

Sindhu, champion of the 2022 edition of the tournament, produced a composed performance to outplay the fifth-seeded Indonesian in straight games, levelling their head-to-head record at 3-3.

She took early control in the first game, briefly faced resistance midway, but regained momentum to close the opener strongly. In the second game, both players traded points closely before Sindhu sealed the match with decisive play in key moments.
She will next face Japan’s Riko Gunji in the pre-quarterfinals.

In men’s doubles, world No. 4 pair Satwik and Chirag were pushed to the limit in a tense opening match. After losing the first game 26-28 despite saving multiple game points, the Indian duo bounced back strongly to win the next two games 21-15, 21-13.

The match lasted 75 minutes, with the Indians showing resilience after a narrow setback in the opener. They will next face Chinese Taipei’s Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan in the Round of 16.

In men’s singles, India’s Ayush Shetty started brightly by taking the first game 21-11 but could not sustain momentum and eventually lost the match 14-21, 12-21.

Other Indian players in action on the opening day also exited after defeats against their respective opponents.