Indian shuttlers continued to disappoint at the international stage with Lakshya Sen and the star men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty crashing out in the second round of the Indonesia Masters Super 500 badminton tournament in Jakarta on Thursday. Sen, ranked 10th in the world, extended his struggling run on the international circuit with a loss in the men’s singles second round against Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto 16-21 21-12 21-23 in 50 minutes. If that was not enough, Asian Games champions Satwik and Chirag, who reached back-to-back semifinals at Malaysia Super 1000 and India Super 750 in the last two weeks, also exited from the tournament with a hard-fought 20-22 21-23 loss against Thai combination of Kittinupong Kedren and Dechapol Puavaranukroh.

Earlier in the day, the mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanshia Crasto squandered an early lead to go down 21-18 15-21 19-21 against Malaysia’s Pang Ron Hoo and Su Yin Cheng in the second round.

Sen, an Asian Games silver medallist and Commonwealth Games gold winner, made a poor start to the match as he lost the first game.

The Indian’s famed defence was ably tackled by the lower-ranked Nishimoto as he took a 9-3 lead and never looked back, despite Sen trying to make a comeback at 10-11. But Nishimoto employed fast rallies and closed out the first game comfortably.

Sen made a fast start to the second game and raced to a 6-3 lead with an aggressive smash.

Nishimoto opted for long rallies to tire out Sen but the Indian’s smart strokeplay handed him a 11-6 lead at the break.

Nishimoto then committed plenty of errors at the net as Sen’s retrieving capacity was on full display while he extended his lead to 16-8.

The Japanese was troubled by the drift as Sen picked up points at will to close out the second game at 21-12 and force the match into the decider.

With the change of sides, it was then Sen’s turn to struggle as Nishimoto raced to a 5-1 lead in the decider.

But a calm and composed Sen kept up up with his opponent till 7-7.

Sen took the lead for the first time in the decider with a jump smash but committed errors due to the drift to trail 9-11 at the final break of the tie.

Later in the day, the women’s doubles pair of Crasto and seasoned Ashwini Ponnappa will be up against Malaysian combination of Pei Kee Go and Mei Xing Teoh.

On Wednesday, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and upcoming men’s singles player Priyanshu Rajawat crashed out in the opening round.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (left) and Chirag Shetty in action.© X (formerly Twitter)

The contingent is the biggest ever but focus would be on a handful of tried-and-tested names, especially the men’s doubles team of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, when Indian shuttlers go up against a world-class field in the India Open Super 750 tournament beginning in New Delhi on Tuesday. Despite the name, Indian success at the tournament hasn’t been particularly regular with none from the host nation winning any title in the past two editions. The 46-strong group that will take the court this week would be desperate to make some amends after an ordinary Olympic campaign six months ago.

The expectations would be especially high from Satwik and Chirag, who claimed the doubles title in 2022, the same year in which the currently erratic Lakshya Sen notched the men’s singles top honour.

More than 200 players from powerhouse badminton nations such as India, China, Japan, Denmark, South Korea and Indonesia will be in action this week.

Chirag and Satwik, who are former world number ones, have made a good start to the season by reaching the semifinals of the Malaysia Super 1000 last week.

Despite the Paris Games disappointment, they have emerged as India’s most reliable performers over the last two years by regularly making the deep end of the draws.

They would be expected to do the same in the USD 950,000 event to be held at the KD Jadhav Indoor Stadium here.

Satwik and Chirag, semifinalists at the 2024 China Masters, will face Malaysia’s Wei Chong Man and Kai Wun Tee in their opening round.

“The last time we came here was after playing the final of the Malaysia Open and reached the final here also. This time also we have started (the year) with a semi-final in Malaysia and want to improve on last year’s results,” Chirag said.

“It is our home tournament and we really want to go one better than last year. Playing in different conditions, the first few rounds are tricky to get used to. Some stadium are fast and some slow but we have been in circuit for 7-8 years, so we are accustomed.” While the Indians have shown impressive form, they will be seeking improvement in quick rallies and service variations in a bid to better their runners-up position in the tournament last year.

However, the Indian pair will face stiff competition from top names such as China’s Olympic silver-medallists Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang.

Also there in the field are Paris bronze-medallists Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia, Denmark’s Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen, and the Indonesian combination of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto.

Sindhu back in action

Despite an underwhelming 2024, one can never discount two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, who would be back in action after missing the season-opener in Kuala Lumpur due to her wedding.

The 29-year-old Hyderabadi returned to winning ways, lifting the Syed Modi International title, although it was against a predominantly Indian field.

Sindhu will begin her campaign against Chinese Taipei’s Shuo Yun Sung and is drawn to face Japan’s rising star Tomoka Miyazaki in a potentially tough second round.

Miyazaki is a 2022 world junior champion and Sindhu’s conqueror at last year’s Swiss Open. Sindhu last won this event in 2017.

The very exciting but equally inconsistent Lakshya Sen would be aiming to replicate his 2022 success at the event.

He can draw confidence from his Syed Modi title win and a third-place finish at the Kings Cup a few days ago. He opens against Chun Yi Lin of Chinese Taipei.

HS Prannoy, returning after a five-month break following a pre-quarterfinal exit at the Paris Olympics, stumbled in the second round in Malaysia last week.

However, the 32-year-old veteran showed signs of his vintage form during the short campaign. He will look to build on that when he faces Chinese Taipei’s Li Yang Su in the first round.

A victory could set up a showdown with second seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia.

Kidambi Srikanth and Kiran George earned last-minute entry following the withdrawal of top seed Shi Yuqi of China and eighth seed Antony Ginting of Indonesia.

Srikanth will face a tough opening test against Chinese left-hander Hong Yang Weng, while Kiran George will open his campaign against Yushi Tanaka of Japan.

With marquee players like Olympic champions Viktor Axelsen (men) and An Se Young (women) leading the competition, it would be no stroll in the park for the Indians in fray.

But being on home turf could prove to be the morale-booster that helps them go over the line in difficult situations.

Young names eye glory

Some promising youngsters will also be eager to make a mark.

Among them is Priyanshu Rajawat, who faces a tough challenge in his opening round against sixth-seeded Japanese Kodai Naraoka.

Malvika Bansod will take on third seed Chinese Yue Han, Aakarshi Kashyap will face eighth-seeded Thai Pornpawee Chochuwong and there will be an all-Indian battle between Anupama Upadhyaya and Rakshitha Sree in another opening round.

In women’s doubles, India’s hopes will rest on fifth-seeded team of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, who will face Japan’s Arisa Igarashi and Ayako Sakuramoto in the first round.

Meanwhile, Guwahati Masters-winning pair of Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa, will take on compatriots Kavya Gupta and Radhika Sharma. The Indians are seeded seventh.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s impressive run at the Malaysia Super 1000 badminton tournament came to an end following a straight-game loss to Korea’s Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae in the semifinals in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday. Seeded seventh, Satwik and Chirag, who reached the finals last season, lost 10-21 15-21 in a 40-minute semifinal clash. “They played really well, and we could have followed our game plan a bit better. Instead, we played some random strokes, but kudos to them for playing a solid game,” Satwik told reporters.

“Today, the pace of the game was very slow compared to the last three days. It’s part of the game. It was a valuable learning experience for us. It is disappointing, but we have a long way to go. Today’s match showed that we can still make it a good fight.” The Asian Games champions struggled to get the right start and trailed 6-11 at the break in the opening game. Despite their efforts, the Indians could not make a comeback as Kim and Seo wrapped up the first game in just 19 minutes.

After the break, Satwik and Chirag showed better control and intent, making it 11-8 at the interval. However, they couldn’t maintain the momentum, allowing the Koreans to recover and seal the contest comfortably.

Kim and Seo have reunited for the 2025 season after finding success with other partners.

Seo previously partnered Kang Min Hyuk to the world title in 2023 and reached world No. 7 with Choi Sol Gyu before that. Kim, on the other hand, claimed the mixed doubles silver medal alongside Jeong Na-eun at the Paris Olympics.

“They both are playing like a mixed doubles pair now, which is making it tougher,” laughed Satwik.

“They are not giving away any easy points, and that’s their best quality. We have to work hard for every point, and that’s exactly what happened today.” Satwik, who hasn’t competed much after the Paris Games due to injuries, said a little more attitude and mind games could have helped against their opponents.

“We were working really hard, but they were taking easy points whenever they wanted, which kept the pressure off them. In the first game, and even in the second, despite us leading, they maintained their confidence. “They could take any point at any time. I think maybe some mind games could have worked here and there. We started a bit calmer, thought the game would come to us, but we could have shown a little more attitude on the court and played with a little more fire,” he said.

Chirag added: “I think we started to be a little calmer in the second game. But credit to them, I think we gave away a few easy points from 11-8, but they were also serving quite well.” Satwik and Chirag haven’t played much badminton since the Olympics.

They will next lead the home challenge at the India Open Super 750, starting January 14. The Indian pair will face Malaysia’s Wei Chong Man and Kai Wun Tee in the opening round.

“Really excited. It’s our home tournament and we would really want to go, play well there, and go as deep into the tournament as possible,” Chirag signed off.

Paris Olympics 2024 is all set to kick off on July 26. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Wednesday announced that 117 athletes, including seven reserves, will be part of India’s contingent at the Games. While stars like Neeraj Chopra, PV Sindhu, Nikhat Zareen, Mirabai Chanu and Vinesh Phogat will be seen competing at the mega event, big names like Ravi Kumar Dahiya and Bajrang Punia — who bagged silver and bronze medals respectively at Tokyo Olympics — failed to qualify for the tournament.

Here is the complete list of Indian athletes who qualified for Paris Olympics 2024 –

Athletics (27 +2)

Men:

Sarvesh Kushare – Men’s High Jump

Suraj Panwar – Marathon race walk mixed relay

Akshdeep Singh, Vikas Singh, Paramjeet Bisht – Men’s 20km Racewalk

Kishore Jena, Neeraj Chopra – Men’s Javelin Throw

Muhammed Anas, Muhammed Ajmal, Amoj Jacob, Santhosh Tamilarasan, Rajesh Ramesh – Men’s 4x400m Relay

Avinash Sable – Men’s 3000m Steeplechase

Tajinderpal Singh Toor – Men’s Shot Put

Abdulla Aboobacker, Praveel Chithravel – Men’s Triple Jump

Jeswin Aldrin – Men’s Long Jump

Women:

Annu Rani- Women’s Javelin Throw

Parul Chaudhary- Women’s 3000m Steeplechase, Women’s 5000m

Kiran Pahal – Women’s 400m, Women’s 4x400m relay

Jyothi Yarraji – Women’s 100m Hurdles

Ankita Dhyani – Women’s 5000m

Priyanka Goswami – Women’s 20km Racewalk, Marathon race walk mixed relay

Jyothika Sri Dandi, Subha Venkatesan, Vithya Ramraj, Poovamma MR- Women’s 4x400m relay

Athletics reserves –

Prachi, Mijo Chacko Kurian

Archery (6)

Men’s Recurve

Dhiraj Bommadevara

Tarundeep Rai

Pravin Jadhav

Women’s Recurve

Bhajan Kaur

Deepika Kumari

Ankita Bhakat

Badminton (7)

Men:

HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen – Singles

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty – Doubles

Women:

PV Sindhu – Singles

Ashwini Ponnappa, Tanisha Crasto – Doubles

Boxing (6)

Men:

Nishant Dev – 71kg

Amit Panghal – 51kg

Women:

Nikhat Zareen – 50kg

Preeti Pawar – 54kg

Jaismine Lamboria – 57kg

Lovlina Borgohain – 75kg

Equestrian (1)

Anush Agarwalla – Dressage

Golf (4)

Men:

Gaganjeet Bhullar

Shubhankar Sharma

Women:

Aditi Ashok

Diksha Dagar

Hockey (16 +3)

Men

Sreejesh Parattu Raveendran, Jarmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Harmanpreet Singh, Sumit, Sanjay, Rajkumar Pal, Shamsher Singh, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Mandeep Singh, Gurjant Singh

Men’s hockey team reserves

Nilakanta Sharma, Jugraj Singh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak

Judo (1)

Tulika Maan – Women’s +78kg

Rowing (1)

Balraj Panwar – Men’s single scull

Sailing (2)

Men:

Vishnu Saravanan – Men’s dinghy

Women:

Nethra Kumanan – Women’s dinghy

Shooting (21)

Men:

Sandeep Singh, Arjun Babuta (10m Air Rifle M)

Aishwary Tomar, Swapnil Kusale (50m Rifle 3 Positions M)

Sarabjot Singh, Arjun Cheema (10m Air Pistol M)

Anish Bhanwal, Vijayveer Sidhu (25m RFP M)

Prithviraj Tondaiman – Men’s Trap

Anantjeet Singh Naruka – Men’s Skeet, Skeet Mixed Team

Women:

Elavenil Valarivan, Ramita (10m Air Rifle W)

Sift Kaur Samra, Anjum Moudgil (50m Rifle 3 Positions W)

Rhythm Sangwan (10m Air Pistol W)

Manu Bhaker – (10m Air Pistol W, 25m Pistol W)

Esha Singh (25m Pistol W)

Rajeshwari Kumari, Shreyasi Singh – Women’s Trap

Maheshwari Chauhan – Women’s Skeet, Skeet Mixed Team

Raiza Dhillon – Women’s Skeet

Swimming (2)

Men:

Srihari Nataraj – Men’s 100m Backstroke

Women:

Dhinidhi Desinghu – Women’s 200m Freestyle

Table Tennis (6+2)

Men:

Sharath Kamal

Harmeet Desai

Manav Thakkar

Women:

Manika Batra

Sreeja Akula

Archana Kamath

Table tennis reserves

Sathiyan G, Ayhika Mukherjee

Tennis (3)

Rohan Bopanna, N Sriram Balaji – Men’s Doubles

Sumit Nagal – Men’s Singles

Weightlifting (1)

Mirabai Chanu – Women’s 49kg

Wrestling (6)

Men:

Aman Sehrawat – Men’s 57kg

Women:

Vinesh Phogat – Women’s 50kg

Antim Panghal – Women’s 53kg

Anshu Malik – Women’s 57kg

Nisha Dahiya – Women’s 68kg

Reetika Hooda- – Women’s 76kg