India Open 2025: Sindhu, Kiran George, Satwik-Chirag, Dhruv-Tanisha Progress to 2nd Round

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India Open 2025: Sindhu, Kiran George, Satwik-Chirag, Dhruv-Tanisha Progress to 2nd Round

Synopsis

On January 14, 2025, at the India Open badminton tournament, PV Sindhu marked her return by defeating Sung Shuo Yun. Kiran George and the doubles teams of Satwik-Chirag and Dhruv-Tanisha also advanced, showcasing impressive performances in their respective matches.

Key Takeaways

  • PV Sindhu wins her first match post-marriage.
  • Kiran George survives a nail-biter against Yushi Tanaka.
  • Satwik and Chirag overcome tough opponents in men's doubles.
  • Dhruv and Tanisha fight back to secure a mixed doubles win.
  • Several upsets marked the tournament's opening rounds.

New Delhi, Jan 14 (NationPress) Former champion PV Sindhu shook off the impact of a long hiatus from competition by securing a victory in straight games against Sung Shuo Yun of Chinese Taipei. Meanwhile, late arrival Kiran George, along with the men's doubles duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, as well as the mixed doubles team of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, navigated tough matches to advance to the second round of the India Open 2025 badminton tournament held at the KD Jadhav Hall on Tuesday.

Sindhu, participating in her first tournament since her marriage last December, encountered some rhythm issues during her 51-minute match against an opponent skilled in both singles and doubles. However, the two-time Olympic medalist increased her intensity when necessary to secure a win with scores of 21-14, 22-20.

In men's singles, Kiran faced a nail-biting match, missing three match points and saving three before defeating Japan's Yushi Tanaka with scores of 21-19, 14-21, 27-25 in an hour and 11 minutes during the opening round of this BWF World Tour Super 750 event.

In the doubles events, Satwik and Chirag overcame a tough challenge from Malaysia’s Wei Chong Man and Kai Wun Tee with scores of 23-21, 19-21, 21-16 in the men’s doubles opening round. Meanwhile, the mixed doubles duo of Dhruv and Tanisha rallied from a game down to defeat Chen Cheng Kuan and Hsu Yin-Hui from Chinese Taipei with scores of 8-21, 21-19, 21-17. However, the fifth-seeded women's doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand fell short against Japan’s Arisa Igarashi and Ayako Sakuramoto, losing 21-23, 19-21 in the first round.

In another upset during the morning session, Malaysia's Leong Jun Hao eliminated the fifth seed Li Shi Feng of China with scores of 18-21, 21-17, 21-17. In women's singles, seventh seed Yeo Jia Min from Singapore saved two match points in the second game to defeat Vietnam’s Thuy Linh Nguyen with scores of 19-21, 22-20, 21-5.

The highlight of the day was undoubtedly Sindhu, who is making a comeback on the BWF circuit after a long absence since the Paris Olympics. She started strongly in the first game, controlling the pace before allowing her opponent to recover from a 20-10 deficit.

The momentum shifted to Sung in the second game as the Taipei player jumped to a 4-11 lead. Sindhu, however, raised her game to level at 13-13. Sung kept pace, even gaining a game point, but the Indian player turned the tide to secure victory.

“After a long break, it’s always challenging to regain rhythm, but I’m pleased to have won in straight games. My shuttle was midcourt in the second game, but I was confident I could succeed,” stated the world no. 16, who is set to face Japan’s Manami Suizu in the next round.

Kiran also faced a tense match against Tanaka. The Indian player, who entered the main draw at the last minute due to withdrawals, started strong but struggled with his own errors. Despite this, he won the opening game but lost the second, forcing a decider.

In the final game, Kiran built a significant lead before a series of errors allowed Tanaka to come back. Nevertheless, he managed to save three match points before finally clinching the win.

“I was optimistic about my last-minute entry, having come here on Saturday to prepare,” said Kiran, who will face the victor of the match between fourth seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand and Alex Lanier of France. “Last year, I lost several matches from winning positions, so I’ve focused on improving in practice. Today was tough, but I kept my composure to pull through,” he added.

Later, Satwik and Chirag faced a fierce challenge from their Malaysian opponents but ultimately managed to secure their advancement.

In the morning session, the Indian mixed doubles pair of Dhruv and Tanisha overcame a poor start and analyzed their performance. “In the first game, we struggled to adjust to the conditions. It was particularly cold in the morning. However, we improved in the second and third games, moving quickly and denying them easy attacks, which changed the match,” said Kapila, who is now fully focused on mixed doubles.

Key Results:

Men’s singles:
Toma Popov (Fra) bt Kenta Nishimoto (Jpn) 20-22, 21-10, 21-14; Kiran George (Ind) bt Yushi Tanaka (Jpn) 21-19, 14-21, 27-25; Leong Jun Hao (Mas) bt 5-Li Shi Feng (Chn) 18-21, 21-17, 21-17.

Women’s singles:
7-Yeo Jia Min (Sin) bt Thuy Linh Nguyen (Vie) 19-21, 22-20, 21-5; 4-Gregoria Tunjung (Ina) bt Line Christophersen 25-27, 21-12, 21-11; Ratchnok Intanon (Tha) bt Nozomi Okuhara (Jpn) 21-13, 21-15; PV Sindhu (Ind) bt Sung Shou Yun (TPE) 21-14, 22-20.

Men’s doubles:
7-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (Ind) bt Wei Chong Man/Kai Wun Tee (Mas) 23-21, 19-21, 21-16.

Women’s doubles:
Ashwini Bhat K/Shikha Gautam (Ind) bt Jackie Dent/Crystal Lai (Can) 22-20, 21-18; Ornnicha Jongsathapornparn/Sukitta Suwachai (Tha) bt Amrutha Prathumesh/Sonali Singh (Ind) 19-21, 21-15, 21-12; 4-Li Yi Jing/Luo Xu Min (Chn) bt Rashmi Ganesh/Sania Sikkandar (Ind) 21-8, 21-9; Arisa Igarashi/Ayako Sakuramoto (Jpn) bt 5-Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand (Ind) 23-21, 21-19; Hu Ling Fang/Jheng Yu Chieh (Tpe) bt Apporva Gahlawat/Sakshi Gahlawat (Ind) 21-12, 21-4.

Mixed doubles:
Dhruv Kapila/Tanisha Crasto (Ind) bt Chen Cheng Kuan/Hsu Yin-Hui (Tpe) 8-21, 21-19, 21-17; Thom Gicquel/Delphine Delrue (Fra) bt Sathish Kumar Karunakaran/Adya Variyath (Ind) 21-12, 21-10; Hee Yong Kai Terry/Jin Yu Jia (Sin) bt Rohan Kapoor/Ruthvika Shivani G (Ind) 17-21, 21-18, 21-15.