India clinched a bronze medal in the last edition of the competition in Dubai in 2023.© BAI

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty© X (Twitter)

Ace Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen along with men’s doubles pair Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy will lead the Indian contingent in the upcoming Indonesia Masters 2025 badminton tournament which will kickstart on Tuesday in Jakarta, Indonesia. PV Sindhu, 16th in the women’s single; world badminton rankings, will face world No 32 Nguyen Thuy Linh of Vietnam in her tournament opener. Aakarshi Kashyap, Anupama Upadhyaya and Rakshitha Ramraj are also in the women’s singles draw at the Indonesia Open.

World No 12 Lakshya Sen, who was eliminated in the first round of both the Malaysia and India Open earlier this month, will face Japan’s Takuma Obayashi in his round of 32 fixture.

Priyanshu Rajawat and Kiran George will also be a part of India’s charge in men’s singles at the Indonesia Masters 2025.

In the men’s doubles event, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy will be India’s only challenge.

The Indian badminton players, who won the Indonesia Open Super 1000 back in 2023, recently made it to the semi-finals of the Malaysia and India Open.

Chirag-Satwik are ninth in the men’s doubles world badminton rankings.

India’s sole representative in the women’s doubles section at Indonesia Masters 2025 are Ashwini Ponnappa-Tanisha Crasto and they will face Thailand’s Ornnicha Jongsathapornparn-Sukitta Suwachai in the first round.

Tanisha Crasto is also a part of the mixed doubles draw with Dhruv Kapila. They face Indonesia’s Adnan Maulana and Indah Cahya Sari Jamil.

India squad for Indonesia Masters 2025:

Men’s singles: Lakshya Sen, Priyanshu Rajawat, Kiran George, Kidambi Srikanth (Q), Ayush Shetty (Q)

Men’s doubles: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty

Women’s singles: PV Sindhu, Aakarshi Kashyap, Rakshitha Ramraj, Anupama Upadhyaya, Isharani Baruah (Q), Tanya Hemnath (Q)

Women’s doubles: Ashwini Ponnappa-Tanisha Crasto

Mixed doubles: Tanisha Crasto-Dhruv Kapila, Rohan Kapoor-Ruthvika Gadde.

Star Indian men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will be eying its maiden title of the year while Lakshya Sen will look to put behind a disappointing start to the season when the Indonesia Masters Super 500 tournament gets underway in Jakarta, Indonesia on Tuesday. The world No 9 duo of Satwik and Chirag has been in a fine form, reaching semifinals of the last two tournaments – Malaysia Open Super 1000 and India Open Super 750 – over the last as many weeks and will be keen to cross the final hurdle.

Satwik-Chirag had lost each of the two semifinals in straight sets and their aim would be to go the distance in the upcoming tournament.

They will open their campaign with a round of 32 clash against Chinese Taipei’s Chen Zhi-Ray and Yu Chieh Lin.

The challenge, however, would be greater for India’s singles players Sen and PV Sindhu when they take the court here.

The 23-year-old Sen, who had finished fourth in last year’s Paris Olympics has lost twice in the first round over the last two weeks, will be determined to put his best foot forward in the round of 32 clash.

Priyanshu Rajawat will also begin his campaign at the same stage, taking on Japan’s Kodai Naraoka.

However, two other Indians will face off in the men’s singles qualification round as Kidambi Srikanth, who did not feature in India Open, will look to get the better of Kiran George.

In women’s singles round of 32, Sindhu will open her campaign against Chinese Taipei’s Sung Shuo Yun, Aakarshi Kashyap will face Japan’s world No 19 Nozomi Okuhara and Anupama Upadhyaya will take on local player Gregoria Mariska Tunjung.

Sindhu lost in the quarterfinals of the India Open and the two-time Olympic medallist Indian star will be keen to make amends.

In women’s singles qualification, Isharani Baruah will face compatriot Rakshitha Ramraj while Tanya Hemanth will clash against Chinese Taipei’s Tung Ciou-Tong.

Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa will begin their women’s doubles campaign in round of 32 against Thailand’s Ornnicha Jongsathapornparn and Sukitta Suwachai.

Tanisha will team up with Dhruv Kapila for their mixed doubles’ round of 32 game against Indonesia’s Adnan Maulana and Indah Cahya Sari Jamil.

In the same round, Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde will face off against England’s Gregory Mairs and Jenny Mairs.

PV Sindhu and the celebrated doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty had to toil to advance to the second round of the USD 950,000 India Open Super 750 badminton tournament on Tuesday, as home shuttlers experienced a mixed day. After missing the season-opening Malaysia Open Super 1000 due to her wedding in December, Sindhu looked a bit rusty but managed to battle through a 21-14, 22-20 victory over world No. 24 Sung Shuo Yun of Chinese Taipei.

“After a long break, it’s always difficult to find the rhythm, but I am happy to have won the match in straight games. My shuttle was going midcourt in the second game, but I was always confident I could pull things off,” said Sindhu.

The world No. 16 Indian will now face Japan’s Manami Suizu in the second round.

In men’s doubles, title contenders Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, seeded seventh, overcame a few nervous moments to defeat Malaysia’s world No. 7 duo, Man Wei Chong and Kai Wun Tee, 23-21, 19-21, 21-16.

After winning a narrow opening game, the Indian pair slipped in the second, allowing the Malaysians to force a decider. Satwik and Chirag took an 11-9 lead in the third game, but the Malaysian pair kept things tight until 18-16, before the Indians sealed the match following two net errors from their opponents.

“They have always been a formidable team. They defended quite well, and it was very difficult to penetrate. Their service retrieving was also good. They have improved immensely, but we are happy we could come back in the third,” said Chirag.

Talented shuttler Kiran George, who trains at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA), fought through a thrilling three-game encounter, saving three match points and then securing the win against Japan’s world No. 25 Yushi Tanaka. Kiran won 21-19, 14-21, 27-25.

In mixed doubles, Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila advanced to the second round with a 8-21, 21-19, 21-17 victory over Chinese Taipei’s Chen Cheng Kuan and Hsu Yin-Hui. Former national champions Ashwini Bhat and Shikha Gautam also progressed, defeating Crystal Lai and Jackie Dent 22-20, 21-18 in women’s doubles.

However, there was disappointment for the women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, seeded fifth, as they suffered a 21-23, 19-21 loss to Japan’s Arisa Igarashi and Ayako Sakuramoto, despite recent success at the Syed Modi International Super 300.

Amrutha Pramuthesh and Sonali Singh also fell short, going down 21-19, 15-21, 12-21 to Thailand’s O Jongsathapornparn and S Suwachai.

In mixed doubles, S Karunakaran and A Variyath lost 12-21, 10-21 to the French pair of T Gicquel and D Delrue. Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde also fought hard but were defeated 21-17, 18-21, 15-21 by Hee Yong Kai Terry and Jin Yu Jia.

Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth, who was granted a last-minute entry, withdrew from the tournament, handing a walkover to his first-round opponent Weng Hong Yang of China.

Earlier in the day, Sindhu made a strong start, taking an 11-6 lead at the break and comfortably clinching the opening game. However, the second game saw Sung gain control, establishing an 11-4 lead at the interval. Sindhu mounted a comeback, levelling the score at 13-13 with a four-point burst.

Despite trailing 14-17, Sindhu rallied again, levelling at 17-17, 19-19, and 20-20, before converting a match point to seal the win.

In men’s singles, Kiran George, who was a last-minute entry, opened up a significant lead at the break in the third game. However, a series of errors allowed Tanaka to fight his way back into the match. Despite missing three match points at 20-18, the Indian kept his nerves and saved three match points before finding the winning point.

Kiran will next face the winner of the match between fourth seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand and Alex Lanier of France.

“Even last year, I lost 4-5 matches from a winning position, so I have been working on such situations in practice. Even today, things got difficult, but I managed to keep my composure and pull through,” he said.

Spotlight will be firmly on the consistent Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty as they lead the host nation’s largest-ever contingent at the star-studded India Open Super 750, beginning in New Delhi on Tuesday. The former world No. 1 men’s doubles pair, the 2022 Indian Open champions, has made a good start to the 2025 season, reaching the semifinals at the Malaysia Super 1000 last week. Despite the disappointment at the Paris Olympics, the duo has emerged as India’s most reliable performers over the last two years, regularly advancing deep into draws, and there will not be any exception in the USD 950,000 event.

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

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, Paris bronze medallists Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia, Denmark’s Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen, and Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto.

Sindhu back in action

This year’s tournament sees an impressive 21 Indian entries, with two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu 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 compatriot Anupama Upadhyaya and is drawn to face Japan’s rising star Tomoka Miyazaki – the 2022 world junior champion and her conqueror at last year’s Swiss Open – in a potentially intriguing clash.

Lakshya Sen, fresh from winning the Syed Modi title and finishing third at the Kings Cup, will hope to bounce back from an early exit in Malaysia.

But the 2022 India Open champion faces a tough opening test against Chinese left-hander Hong Yang Weng.

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

However, the 32-year-old veteran showed signs of his old self and will look to build when he faces Chinese Taipei’s Li Yang Su in the first round.

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

With marquee players like Olympic champions Viktor Axelsen and An Se Young, and world No. 1 Shi Yuqi leading the competition, high-octane action could unfold at KD Jadhav Indoor Hall, Indira Gandhi Stadium.

The tournament will feature 18 of the world’s top-20 men’s singles players and 14 of the top-20 women’s singles shuttlers.

Young names eye glory

Among the Indians, some promising youngsters will be eager to make a mark.

Priyanshu Rajawat faces a tough challenge in his opening round against sixth-seeded Japanese Kodai Naraoka, while Malvika Bansod meets third seed Chinese Yue Han, and Aakarshi Kashyap faces eighth-seeded Thai Pornpawee Chochuwong.

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

Meanwhile, Guwahati Masters winners Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa, seeded seventh here, will take on the British duo of Chloe Coney and Estelle Van Leeuwen.

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

Indian badminton stars Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty continued their stellar run on the international stage by reaching the men’s doubles semifinals of the prestigious Malaysia Open Super 1000 tournament on Friday. The seventh-seeded Indian duo defeated Malaysia’s Yew Sin Ong and Ee Yi Teo in straight games, 26-24, 21-15, in a 49-minute quarterfinal clash. The victory marks their third consecutive semifinal appearance in this elite tournament, underlining their consistency and rising dominance in men’s doubles badminton.

The opening game was a rollercoaster affair, with both pairs displaying immense skill and determination. Satwik and Chirag started strongly, taking an early lead, but the Malaysian pair, roared on by the partisan home crowd, fought back valiantly. The Indian pair was pushed to their limits as the game extended into extra points. At 24-24, Satwik and Chirag held their nerve, showcasing exceptional reflexes and court awareness to clinch the first game 26-24 after a gripping 28-minute battle.

The Malaysian pair began the second game with renewed vigour, seizing the lead early and maintaining it until the mid-game interval. At 11-11, Satwik and Chirag, the Commonwealth and Asian Games medallists, shifted gears, finding their rhythm and executing a series of well-coordinated smashes and deceptive drops. What followed was a display of dominance as the Indian duo claimed 13 of the next 17 points. Their ability to adapt under pressure and capitalize on crucial moments proved decisive, allowing them to close out the second game 21-15 and secure their place in the semifinals.

Satwik and Chirag, runners-up in the previous edition of the Malaysia Open BWF World Tour Super 1000 event, now face a formidable challenge in the semifinals against South Korea’s Won Ho Kim and Seung Jae Seo.

Reflecting on their performance, the Indian duo said, “Great start to the year, we couldn’t have started on a better note. We want to go as deep in the tournament as possible.”

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are the lone Indian pair in contention in the Malaysia Open after singles stars, Lakshya Sen, H.S. Prannoy, Priyanshu Rajawat, Malvika Bansod, Akarshi Kashyap, Anupama Upadhyayay and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Tresha Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand all were ousted in the first two rounds.

India’s star men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty on Tuesday withdrew from the Syed Modi International Super 300 badminton tournament. The former world No 1 duo, touted as the favourites to win the men’s doubles title here, had been sidelined from competitive action post the Paris Olympics due to Satwik’s shoulder injury. They made their comeback at the China Masters Super 750 tournament last week where they reached the semifinals. However, B Sumeeth Reddy, who has been training the Indian pair ahead of the China Masters and also sat for their matches, informed that Satwik encountered “difficulty” in fully recovering.

“Satwik has just returned from injury. They are playing after a long time. They had a very hectic week in Shenzhen where they reached the semifinals. It is sometimes difficult to recover completely, so in the best interest, keeping their body in mind and the upcoming season, they decided to withdraw,” Reddy told PTI.

The top seeds were drawn to play against Chen Xu Jun and Guo Ruo Han in the opening round but have given the Chinese pair a walkover.

India’s Mansi Singh, Tanvi Sharma and Navya Kanderi and China’s Han Qianxi advanced to the women’s singles main draw.

Uttar Pradesh’s Mansi secured her spot in the women’s singles main draw after defeating Praisha Bonam 21-11 22-24 21-12 in the qualifiers. She will now face Thailand’s fourth seed Pornpicha Choeikeewong in the first round.

In the men’s singles, India’s Siddharth Pratap Singh, Saneeth Dayanand, RS Sanjeev Kumar, and Malaysia’s Shooleh Aidil also secured spots in the main draw.

In women’s doubles, Indian pairs Kavya Gupta and Radhika Sharma and Kanika Kanwal and Bharti Pal, along with China’s Keng Shu Liang and Wang Ting Ji and Li Hua Zhou and Wang Ting Ji, successfully entered the main draw.

India’s Yash Raikwar and T Hem Nagendra Babu and Viplav Kuwale and Viraj Kuwale, as well as China’s Chen Zhu Jun and Guo Rohan and Thailand’s Pharanyu Kaosamang and Tandarn P, also advanced to the men’s doubles main draw.

In mixed doubles, Indian pairs of Ram Bhargav Arigela and Vennala Kalagotla, Ganesh Vitthal Ji and Shivani Santosh Singh, and T Hem Nagendra Babu and Kanika Kanwal also secured their spots in the main draw.

Lakshya Sen in action© X (formerly Twitter)