Latest news with #Treesa-Gayatri
Indian Express
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
Thailand Open badminton: Five round-of-16 matches, five defeats in straight games as India's campaign ends
Out of the five matches featuring Indian shuttlers in the round of 16 stage at the Thailand Open Super 500 badminton tournament in Bangkok on Thursday, four were against higher-ranked, seeded opponents, so any expectations of a positive result from those were futile. Only Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, currently India's solitary presence in the world's top 10 of the BWF rankings across all five disciplines, were up against a winnable lower-ranked opponent. But as things turned out, they too fell short as India's poor run of results on the BWF World Tour continued in 2025. And to top it all off, all five matches ended in straight-game defeats. India's best bet of a deeper run in Bangkok always appeared to rest on Treesa-Gayatri – especially after frustrating defeats for Lakshya Sen and Priyanshu Rajawat in the opening round of men's singles – but their comeback to the tour after an injury layoff was cut short as well. They went down 20-22, 14-21 to Japan's Rui Hirokami and Sayaka Hobara. While they have been India's most consistent shuttlers in the recent past, the sight of Gayatri playing with a huge strapping to support her back – she had used something similar earlier as well, including the Syed Modi Super 300 in Lucknow that they won last year – is another sign that they are not yet operating at 100% of their capacity. The opener was a tight affair, the only game that actually went the distance on the day, but after saving a game point at 19-20, the Indians couldn't create an opening of their own. The match had plenty of long rallies as one would expect from women's doubles, but Treesa-Gayatri were hampered by the fact that they couldn't enforce winners to get out of defensive positions. In women's singles, Unnati Hooda, Malvika Bansod and Aakarshi Kashyap were all up against local favourites, with Thailand boasting of four seeds among the eight. Top seed and world No 6 Pornpawee Chochuwong faced some resistance from 17-year-old Unnati, who recovered after a nightmare start to be down 5-15. The Indian teenager, who was enjoying a good run of results after her semifinal run at the Taipei Open Super 300 last week and a thrilling three-game in the opening round here, bounced back to win nine out of the next 12 points to make it 14-18 but Chochuwong held on to the lead to take Game 1. Unnati didn't let Chochuwong get away too far in the second toom, trailing 8-11 at the interval but the Thai shuttler won 21-14, 21-11 in 39 minutes. India's No 2 Malvika Bansod, now up to No 23 in the world, would have hoped for a better showing against former world champion Ratchanok Intanon, who is now on the other side of 30 and not the force she once was. But it was the veteran who hit the ground running to open up a 13-2 lead in the opening game and from that point on it looked like a hurdle that Malvika wouldn't cross, as she lost 16-21, 12-21 in 44 minutes. The most one-sided defeat was Aakarshi Kashyap's who was outplayed by maverick leftie Supanida Katethong in 9-21, 14-21 thrashing that lasted just 34 minutes. In men's singles, Tharun Mannepalli went down against second-seeded Dane Anders Antonsen, losing 14-21, 16-21 in 42 minutes.
Indian Express
26-04-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
Sudirman Cup 2025: India's squad led by PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen, schedule, opponents and where to watch
The BWF Sudirman Cup Finals is the name given to the World Mixed Team Championships. The event takes place once every two years, alternating with the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals – which are the World Men's and Women's Team Championships respectively. The Sudirman Cup is often considered the pinnacle of a country's badminton depth, as it tests the depth across all five categories. Each tie in the Sudirman Cup Finals (named so because only the best teams in the world can qualify for the event) will consist of men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles. Where's the 2025 Sudirman Cup being held? As has been the case recently, it is China hosting another major BWF event. This time it is Xiamen starting from 27 April to 4 May. Hosts China are the defending champions as well, and by some distance the most successful team in the history of the tournament, having won it a whopping 13 times, South Korea have won it four times, while Indonesia won the inaugural edition. What's the format? The 16 teams are divided into four groups, with top seeds China placed in Group A and second seeds Indonesia in Group D. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the knockout rounds, for which a draw will be conducted once more. Semifinalists will be assured a place on the podium. How's India's group? Tricky. India were drawn into Group D alongside second seeds Indonesia, European powerhouse Denmark and a tricky England unit. The squad has been significantly weakened too, by the injury-enforced absences of top doubles pairs Satwik-Chirag and Treesa-Gayatri. But, on the flip side, Indonesia and Denmark too are hit by withdrawals, so it could be still be a close shootout for the top two. What's India's squad? Men: Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, Hariharan Amsakarunan, Ruban Kumar R., Dhruv Kapila, Sathish Kumar Karunakaran Women: PV Sindhu, Anupama Upadhyaya, Tanisha Crasto, Priya Konjengbam, Shruti Mishra, Aadya Variyat What's India's schedule and where to watch? India vs Denmark, April 27: 2.30 pm IST India vs Indonesia, April 29: 2.30 pm IST India vs England, May 1: 2.30 pm IST Where to watch Sudirman Cup 2025? Although BWF events are telecast / streamed on the Star Sports network and JioHotstar it is not clear yet where the Sudirman Cup finals will be available in India. If there isn't an official broadcaster, matches will be available on BWF TV YouTube.
