India Open 2026: Lakshya reaches quarterfinals; Prannoy, Srikanth knocked out
Lakshya Sen kept the host nation’s title hopes in singles alive with a straight-games victory after H. S. Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth both lost in deciding games to exit India Open Super 750 badminton tournament in the round of 16 in New Delhi on Thursday.
Lakshya defeated Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto 21-19, 21-10 in 50 minutes to reach the quarterfinals where he will meet Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chun-yi.
Prannoy went down 21-18, 19-21, 14-21 to Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew, eighth seed and former world champion, in a 58-minute match which was twice interrupted due to bird excrement on the court.
Srikanth suffered a 14-21, 21-17, 17-21 defeat against fifth-seeded Frenchman Christo Popov in an hour and six minutes.
India’s challenge in women’s singles ended with Malvika Bansod losing 18-21, 15-21 to fifth-seeded Chinese Han Yue.
Later in the day, men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, and the women’s doubles duo of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will be in action.
Published on Jan 15, 2026