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The Hindu
19-05-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Malaysia Masters 2025 — A shot at redemption for Sindhu and Prannoy
P. V. Sindhu and H. S. Prannoy will look to script a turnaround in fortunes when they lead the country's campaign at the USD 475,000 Malaysia Masters Super 500 tournament beginning here on Tuesday. Both Sindhu and Prannoy have endured a tough phase of late, struggling with form and fitness. The duo lost their respective matches against Indonesia and Denmark in the Sudirman Cup last month — their last competitive outing. With a two-week break under their belt, the two veterans will now be eager to rediscover their rhythm at the Axiata Arena. Two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu, currently ranked World No. 16, will open her campaign against Japan's Natsuki Nidaira, ranked 20th in the world. Prannoy, who has slipped to World No. 35, faces a tough opener against fifth seed Kenta Nishimoto of Japan. In women's singles, 2024 Hylo Open runner-up Malvika Bansod will take on Chiu Pin-Chian of Chinese Taipei, while Unnati Hooda — a semifinalist at the Taipei Open Super 300 — will face compatriot Lin Hsiang Ti. ALSO READ | Thailand Open 2025: India's campaign ends as Unnati, Malvika, Aakarshi exit Aakarshi Kashyap has drawn eighth seed Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia. In men's singles, Sathish Karunakaran, champion at the 2023 Odisha Masters and 2024 Guwahati Masters, will take on top seed Anders Antonsen of Denmark. World junior championships bronze medallist Ayush Shetty, who reached the Taipei Open semifinals, will face Canada's Brian Yang, while Priyanshu Rajawat opens against Singapore's Jia Heng Jason Teh. In mixed doubles, world number 19 Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto will face a qualifier. Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde will begin against fourth-seeded Chinese pair Guo Xin Wa and Chen Fang Hui, while Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh meet top seeds Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin. Sathish will also pair up with Aadya Variyath in mixed doubles to face Malaysia's Roy King Yap and Valeree Siow. In men's doubles, the pair of Hariharan Amsakarunan and Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi will be in action. Women's doubles will see Indian participation from Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singhi, Vaishnavi Khadkekar and Alisha Khan, as well as Prerana Alvekar and Mrunmayee Deshpande. In the qualifiers, Kidambi Srikanth, S Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian, and Tharun Mannepalli will vie for spots in the men's singles main draw, while Anmol Kharb and Tasnim Mir will aim to qualify in the women's section. Other Indians featuring in the qualification rounds include Mohit Jaglan and Lakshita Jaglan, and the pair of Shivam Sharma and Poorvisha S. Ram.
Indian Express
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
Thailand Open Super 500: Unnati Hooda leads three Indian women's singles players into R16; Lakshya Sen's season of woes continues with another first-round exit
Thamonwan Nithiittikrai's reactions just a few minutes apart were awfully similar as she fell down on the court at the end of a rally but Unnati Hooda ended up having the last laugh. First at 19-20, with Unnati facing a match point, Nithiittikrai hit a forehand clear that she thought fell inside the backline but as Unnati let the shuttle drop, the Thai player couldn't see the umpire's outstretched hands signalling it was wide. Unnati, having survived two match points, squandered one of her own before eventually prevailing 21-14, 18-21, 23-21 in exactly one hour. This time again Nithiittikrai fell on her knees, but in disappointment at having come close to a win only to see the Indian teenager clinch a thriller in the opening round of the Thailand Open Super 500 in Bangkok on Wednesday. The 17-year-old Unnati, fresh from her semifinal run last week at the Taipei Open Super 300, led a trio of Indian women's singles players into the round of 16 in Thailand. She was joined by Aakarshi Kashyap and Malvika Bansod in registering hard-fought first-round wins. But there was disappointment in men's singles once again, as Lakshya Sen and Priyanshu Rajawat continued to struggle for consistency this season, going down in three games. Lakshya showed a brief glimpse of the form that took him to the Paris Olympics semifinal last year during his win against Jonatan Christie at the All England in March. But apart from that, it has been a wretched season for the 23-year-old from Almora. It was his fourth first-round exit of the season (with a second-round exit in another event to add) as he went down against Ireland's Nhat Nguyen, world No. 34, in a three-game battle, losing 18-21, 21-9, 17-21 in 80 minutes. There was a late fightback in Game 1, there was complete control in Game 2, but in the end, the world No. 18 lost steam once again in the decider as his form continues to dip internationally. And Priyanshu, seen as the future of men's singles in India along with Lakshya, also has struggled to stitch together a decent set of results this year. Up against the highly-rated Indonesian world No 3` Alwi Farhan, Priyanshu – who has slid down to World No 33 now – lost 16-21, 21-17, 13-21 in 70 minutes. In what has been an underwhelming year so far for Indian badminton anyway, the results in men's singles are becoming increasingly concerning. Ayush Shetty has been a bright spot, but after his run to the semifinals last week in Chinese Taipei, the 20-year-old had fallen at the qualifying hurdle this week in Bangkok on Tuesday. There was good news in women's doubles as world No. 10 pair of Tressa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand made a winning comeback from an injury-enforced break. Currently the only Indians across the five disciplines ranked in the world's top 10, the duo won 21-15, 21-13 win over Malaysia's Ong Xin Yee and Carmen Ting. The third seeds next take on Japan's Rui Hirokami and Sayaka Hobara. In women's singles, it was the end of the road for Rakshitha Sree Santhosh Ramraj, who lost her women's singles opener 18-21 7-21 to eighth seed Yeo Jia Min of Singapore. Earlier in the day, world No 49 Aakarshi registered a thrilling 21-16, 20-22, 22-20 win against Japan's world No 37 Kaoru Sugiyama. All three Indians in women's singles face daunting tasks against home stars in the round of 16. Unnati will take on top seed and title favourite Pornpawee Chochuwong, while Aakarshi meets fourth-seed Supanida Katethong. India No 2 Malvika goes up against former world champion Ratchanok Intanon, who got the better of Anupama Upadhyaya in the opening round.
NDTV
13-05-2025
- Sport
- NDTV
Thailand Open: Former World Number One Kidambi Srikanth Bows Out In Qualifiers
Former world number one Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth failed to qualify for the main round of the Thailand Open 2025 as he crashed out of the tournament with a defeat in his second match in the qualifiers on Tuesday. In the first round of qualifiers, the world championships silver medallist ousted Sankar Subramanian 21-15, 21-17 but lost in the second against Tharun Mannepalli 21-15, 21-17. In his last eight outings, Srikanth, ranked 71st in the men's singles, has managed just one appearance in the quarter-finals, highlighting his turbulent phase. Last year, he made just one semi-final appearance after competing in 14 tournaments. Tharun, ranked 53rd, was the only Indian to advance past the qualifiers. He will continue India's challenge in the main draw, which kicks off on Wednesday. Before outwitting Srikanth, Tharun defeated Chinese Taipei's Kuo Kuan Lin 17-21, 21-19, 21-17 in the closely contested opener. Ayush Shetty, who stormed into the semi-finals of the Taipei Open Super 300 last week, opened his account with a dominant 21-10, 21-11 victory against Finland's Joakim Oldorff. However, in his second fixture in the qualifiers, the 20-year-old bowed out of the tournament following a 21-14, 22-20 defeat against Malaysia's Justin Hoh. Sathish Karunakaran's campaign also came to a bitter end after a 17-21, 21-12, 21-12 loss to Malaysia's Aidil Sholeh. In the women's singles category, Ira Sharma staged a flawless comeback to defeat Myanmar's Thet Hthar Htuzar 18-21, 21-8, 21-12 in her opener. However, she could not carry her winning momentum against Thailand's Thamonwan Nithiittikrai and lost by 21-12, 21-18 in the second. India's only mixed doubles pair in the qualifiers, Mohit Jaglan and Lakshita Jaglan, crashed out of the tournament with a defeat against Chan Yin Chak and NG Tsz Yau of Hong Kong China 21-8, 21-10. On Wednesday, Lakshya Sen, the Paris 2024 Olympics men's singles semi-finalist, world number 10 women's doubles duo Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly and the rising sensation Unnati Hooda will take the court. Listen to the latest songs, only on
The Hindu
12-05-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Thailand Open 2025: Treesa-Gayatri return to action; Ayush, Unnati aim to continue strong show
Young Indian shuttlers Ayush Shetty and Unnati Hooda will look to build on their recent impressive run, while Lakshya Sen will be eager to regain his rhythm during the Thailand Open Super 500 badminton beginning on Tuesday. Ayush, 20, and 17-year-old Unnati had reached the semifinals of the Taipei Open Super 300 last week, but they will have to navigate the qualifying rounds to make it to the main draw here. While Ayush will take on Finland's Joakim Oldorff in his opening qualifying match, Unnati faces Thailand's Thamonwan Nithiittikrai in the women's singles qualifiers. Sen, on the other hand, will open his campaign against Ireland's Nhat Nguyen in the main draw. The former Commonwealth Games champion will be keen to test his fitness, having missed out on playing any matches at the Sudirman Cup due to an injury. Priyanshu Rajawat, another rising talent, has struggled for consistency and will hope for a strong showing when he begins his campaign against Indonesia's Alwi Farhan. In women's singles, Malvika Bansod — a finalist at the 2022 Syed Modi International and the 2023 Hylo Open, both Super 300 events — will face Turkey's Neslihan Yigit in her opening match in the main draw. Former national champion Anupama Upadhyaya, who beat England's Miu Lin Ngan in the Sudirman Cup, will have a tough task against Thailand's former world champion Ratchanok Intanon in her opening round. Rakshita Ramraj will open against Singapore's Yeo Jia Min, while Aakarshi Kashyap will face Japan's Kaoru Sugiyama. ALSO READ | BWF Rankings: Satwik-Chirag pair slips to 18th, Sindhu moves up to 16th In men's singles, former world number one Kidambi Srikanth, currently ranked 82nd, will continue his comeback trail. He faces fellow Indian S Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian — a player he defeated last week in Taipei — in the qualifiers. Sathish Karunakaran and Tharun Mannepalli are also in the fray in the men's singles qualifiers. In the women's qualifiers, Ira Sharma is the only other Indian in the fray, alongside Unnati. Meanwhile, world No. 10 women's doubles pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand are set to return after missing the Sudirman Cup due to injuries. The duo, who broke into the top-10 last year, were forced to take a break due to a back injury to Gayatri and a shoulder issue to Treesa. They will face the Malaysian pair of Ong Xin Yee and Carmen Ting in the opening round of the main draw. In doubles, India will also have representation in the men's pair of Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy and Sai Pratheek K, and the women's duo of Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singhi.
Indian Express
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
Taipei Open Super 300: Unnati Hooda, Ayush Shetty have their chances but go down in the semifinals against the top seeds
Up against one of the most highly rated young shuttlers in the world, Unnati Hooda had the lead in the opening game up until the finishing stages. Then top seed Tomoka Miyazaki made her decisive move, from 18-19 down, winning three consecutive points to pull off a mini heist. Up against one of the world's most experienced, gritty shuttlers, Ayush Shetty was going toe-to-toe, leading 18-17 in Game 1 and 15-14 in Game 2. But Chou Tien Chen is among the best there is when it comes to back-against-the-wall badminton, a trait that has seen him thrive well on the other side of 30 on the gruelling international circuit, a trait that Ayush came to witness from close quarters. That the Indian youngsters lost both of those matches in straight games on semifinals Saturday at the Taipei Open Super 300 is, in equal measure, encouraging and frustrating. They had their chances against the top seeds of the women's singles and men's singles draws respectively, but couldn't quite find a way past the finish line. While Unnati lost the battle of the teenagers against Japan's Miyazaki 19-21, 11-21 in 43 minutes, Ayush went down 18-21, 17-21 in 42 minutes against local hero Chou. At 18, Miyazaki is already in the top 10 in the world and has been notching up impressive wins over the past year or so. At 17, Unnati is a bit behind the Japanese youngster who she had lost to at the 2023 Junior World Championships. But it was the Indian who was off to a better start. The match began with a long rally, with Unnati playing at a high tempo, forcing Miyazaki to play reactive badminton. The Rohtak teen opened up a 3-0 lead with a good body smash, and early indications were that the Indian's attacking weapons can put Miyazaki under pressure. In what would turn out to be her most potent shot of the match, however, Miyazaki started finding her footing with her precise smash down the line to Unnati's forehand side. In Game 1 though, Unnati managed to keep Miyazaki at bay for long periods, showing good reflex defence, some cute backhand blocks, where she took the shuttle really low and late to deceive the former junior World Champ. The Indian led 11-6 at the interval but out of the break, started to rush through the points more, instead of displaying the solidity she had shown in the opening exchanges. A couple of sensational winners from Miyazaki made it a one-point game at 17-18 as she caught up with Unnati with a pinpoint cross smash that caught the line. The down-the-line smash again did the damage at 19-19, followed by her signature defensive retrieves that gave her a game point – the first time Miyazaki actually had the lead and she duly converted it. That opening game took the sting out of Unnati, with her father and coach Upkar Hooda looking increasingly agitated in the opening exchanges of Game 2 where she lost her radar with far too many unforced errors. A 11-6 lead for Miyazaki soon became 15-6 and by that point, Upkar's animated instructions faded away just as Unnati's fight. 15 years separate Ayush Shetty and Chou Tien Chen, but the youngster has a 15 cms advantage on court when it comes to height. The tall Mangalore shuttler has been steadily improving this season, and in his second semifinal appearance at a Super 300 event, pushed Chou all the way in both games… but the finishing kick eluded. Chou, who loves to engage in gruelling rallies, tried to switch things up. He seemed to have identified early that engaging in long rallies might favour the younger Ayush, and Chou kept the shuttle flat. The match started with a long-ish rally, but the opening exchanges seemed more like a men's doubles match than singles. Ayush opened up a 7-4 lead to start, but Chou entered the interval with an 11-10 lead – it took just 9 minutes for those first 21 points. When Chou did lift and give Ayush the height to work with, the Indian showed repeatedly he could go for the kill with great effect – the smashes troubled the 35-year-old. Both men traded blows for the remainder of the opening game, but Chou set up game point opportunities with a body smash at 20-18 and converted it. To his credit, unlike Unnati, Ayush didn't let the end of the opening game affect the start of his second as he continued to keep Chou on his toes but eventually the four-time Taipei Open champion pushed ahead from 16-16 and closed it out with a big roar in front of his home fans. Vinayakk Mohanarangan is Senior Assistant Editor and is based in New Delhi. ... Read More
