Sindhu, Satwik-Chirag pair reach round of 16 at BWF Badminton World Championships 2025

Former champion P. V. Sindhu beat Malaysia’s Karupathevan Letshanaa to reach the round of 16 at the BWF Badminton World Championships in Paris on Wednesday.

The 30-year-old Sindhu, who became the first-ever Indian to win the title in 2019, took down World No. 40 Letshanaa 21-19, 21-15 to secure a spot in the pre-quarterfinals where she will face World No. 2 Wang Zhi Yi of China.

World No. 15 Sindhu, who has five World Championships medals and two Olympic medals to her name, was in a spot of bother as the 22-year-old Malaysian led 18-12 in the opener. However, the experienced Indian bounced back, winning nine of the next 10 points to stun her opponent.

With the momentum on her side, Sindhu dominated the second game and sealed the win in 43 minutes.

The men’s doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who won the bronze medal at the 2022 edition, also progressed to the pre-quarterfinals with a 22-20, 21-13 victory over Chinese Taipei’s Liu Kuang Heng and Yang Po Han.

Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto moved into the mixed doubles round of 16 with a 21-11, 21-16 win over Ireland’s Joshua Magee and Moya Ryan. The 16th-seeded Indian pair will next face Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet of Hong Kong, China.

Later in the day, the mixed doubles pair of Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde, and H S Prannoy, the only Indian left in men’s singles, will be in action.

Published on Aug 27, 2025