File photo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.
| Photo Credit: AP

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.