Indian sports wrap, June 11: Bhambri-Galloway pair exits Boss Open
TENNIS
Bhambri-Galloway pair exits Boss Open
India’s number one doubles player Yuki Bhambri and his American partner Robert Galloway fought their hearts out before losing the BOSS Open pre-quarterfinals, here.
In a match where both sets were decided by tie-breakers, the Indo-American combine lost 6-7 (5) 6-7 (5) to Santiago Gonzalez from Mexico and Austin Krajicek from the USA in one hour and 34 minutes.
India’s challenge is still alive in the tournament, with veteran Rohan Bopanna and N Sriram Balaji competing with their respective partners.
Balaji and and his Mexican partner Miguel Reyes-Varela are up against the second-seeded French pair of Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul.
The 45-year-old Bopanna has teamed up with Belgium’s Sander Gille and they will take on the local combination of Jakob Schnaitter and Mark Wallner.
-PTI
BADMINTON
Machaxi Raises $1.5M from Prakash Padukone, Rainmatter and Others to Expand AI-Based Grassroots Badminton Training
Machaxi, a sports-tech company focused on grassroots coaching and digital sports infrastructure, has raised $1.5 million in a round led by Rainmatter, the investment initiative of Zerodha. The round also saw participation from Indian badminton legend Prakash Padukone and existing investors.
The funding will help Machaxi scale its operations beyond Bengaluru into three new cities-Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai—while also building a nationwide framework for AI-powered badminton coaching.
As part of the expansion, Machaxi is collaborating with the Padukone School of Badminton to launch the “Machaxi x Padukone School of Badminton” program. The initiative aims to establish over 1,000 coaching centres across India within the next four years.
Prakash Padukone, Ace Indian Badminton player, said: “I’ve always believed that the future of Indian badminton lies in structured grassroots development. Machaxi’s vision to scale coaching while maintaining quality through AI is forward-thinking and impactful. I’m thrilled to partner with them in shaping the next generation of champions.”