French Open: Unnati Hooda progresses to pre-quarters, Ayush Shetty bows out

Rising Indian shuttler Unnati Hooda progressed to the pre-quarterfinals of the French Open Super 750 badminton tournament but Ayush Shetty bowed out in the first round after going down fighting to Japan’s Koki Watanabe in men’s singles in Cesson-Sevigne, France on Wednesday.

The 18-year-old Hooda rallied after losing the opening game to beat Malaysia’s Letshanaa Karupathevan 11-21 21-13 21-16 in her women’s singles first round match, but before that, Shetty lost 19-21 19-21 to the seasoned campaigner from Japan.

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Anupama Upadhyaya lost to Chna’s Han Yue 15-21 11-21 in the women’s singles opening round match, while Anmol Kharb went down to South Korea’s An Se-young 15-21 9-21 in their round of 32 women’s singles matches.

Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy will later take on Indonesia’s Rahmat Hidayat and Muhammad Rian Ardianto in a round of 32 men’s doubles match.

Published on Oct 22, 2025