Thailand Open 2026 — Sindhu, Srikanth reach round of 16; Ayush knocked out
P. V. Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth registered comfortable wins to book their spots in the round of 16 of the Thailand Open, a BWF World Tour Super 500 event, in Bangkok on Wednesday.
Two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu, seeded sixth, took down World No. 43 Tung Ciou-Tong of Chinese Taipei 21-9, 21-12 in 33 minutes to set up a second-round clash with Danish World No. 41 Amalie Schulz, another player the Indian has never faced before as she looks to clinch her first title since the Syed Modi International in 2024
Barring a few nervous moments towards the end, World No. 29 Srikanth faced no difficulties in defeating eighth-seeded Singaporean Loh Kean Yew 21-14, 21-15 in a rematch of the World Championships 2021 final. The Indian, who won the Thailand Open in 2013, will next face World No. 49 Su Li Yang of Chinese Taipei.
Badminton Asia Championships silver medallist Ayush Shetty entered his campaign opener against Kodai Naraoka, the sixth-seeded Japanese, with a 2-1 head-to-head advantage.
After conceding the first game, 21-year-old Ayush bounced back to force a decider. However, World No. 9 Naraoka completely outplayed the Indian, ranked 20th in the BWF Rankings, in the third game to record a 21-13, 17-21, 21-4 victory in 59 minutes.
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Youngster Unnati Hooda had not grabbed a game in her previous three meetings against Pornpawee Chochuwong. While the 18-year-old Indian did manage to open her account in that aspect, it wasn’t enough to stop the fourth-seeded Thai shuttler from making a comeback to win 11-21, 21-17, 21-16 in an hour and 12 minutes in front of her home crowd.
Later in the day, Lakshya Sen, Tanvi Sharma, Devika Sihag, Anmol Kharb, Malvika Bansod and Isharani Baruah will also be in action in singles while three Indian pairs will play in mixed doubles.
RESULTS (First Round)
Men’s Singles: Kidambi Srikanth bt [8] Loh Kean Yew (SGP) 21-14, 21-15; [6] Kodai Naraoka (JPN) bt Ayush Shetty 21-13, 17-21, 21-4; Koki Watanabe (JPN) bt Tharun Mannepalli 21-12, 21-16
Women’s Singles: [4] Pornpawee Chochuwong (THA) bt Unnati Hooda 11-21, 21-17, 21-16
Published on May 13, 2026