Kidambi Srikanth, the former world No. 1, was forced to retire from the Canada Open 2026 due to injury on 3 July 2026, as India endured a bruising opening day at the Markham Pan Am Centre in Ontario, with seven of nine singles players eliminated in the first round of the BWF Super 300 tournament.

Srikanth's Exit and the Men's Singles Collapse

Srikanth was locked in a tightly contested match against Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia when he was forced to retire at 11-10 in the first game, bringing an abrupt end to what had promised to be one of the day's marquee contests. The timing made the setback particularly painful — just a week earlier, Srikanth had defeated the same opponent en route to a runner-up finish at the US Open. The retirement also extended Lee's head-to-head lead over Srikanth to 6-3.

The rest of India's men's singles contingent offered little consolation. Saneeth Dayanand was outclassed by third seed Yudai Okimoto of Japan, who swept to a dominant 21-7, 21-11 victory. Sankar Subramanian showed early promise by taking the opening game against South Korea's Yoo Tae-bin, but faded badly, losing 19-21, 21-15, 21-15 in three games.

Women's Singles: Two Bright Spots Amid Disappointment

The women's draw provided India's only cause for optimism. Tanya Hemnath defeated USA's Disha Gupta 21-16, 21-18 to advance to the round of 16, where she will face Japan's Riko Gunji. Aakarshi Kashyap, the Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, was equally convincing, dispatching France's Anna Tatranova 21-14, 21-12. She now faces a stiff test against fourth seed Beiwen Zhang of the United States for a quarter-final berth.

The rest of India's women's campaign, however, ended on Day 1. World No. 33 Devika Sihag, India's highest-ranked women's singles entry in the draw, fell in straight games. Shriyanshi Valishetty also exited without taking a game. Rakshitha Ramraj came closest to a comeback, winning the opening game against Canada's Rachel Chan before going down 15-21, 21-14, 21-15.

Anmol Kharb's Spirited Fight Against Top Seed

Teenager Anmol Kharb produced the most spirited performance of India's day against top seed Michelle Li of Canada. After losing the first game 21-6, Kharb staged a remarkable recovery in the second, saving match points to claim it 24-26. Li, however, closed out the match 21-13 in the decider, ending the teenager's challenge.

Men's Doubles Exit Compounds India's Woes

India's troubles were compounded by an early men's doubles exit, with Achutaditya Rao Doddavarapu and Arjun Reddy Pochana bowing out before the singles action had fully gathered pace. With the doubles pair gone and the men's singles contingent wiped out, only Tanya Hemnath and Aakarshi Kashyap remain in contention as the tournament moves into its second round.

This is the second successive tournament where India's men's singles challenge has unravelled early — a pattern that will concern selectors ahead of the Asian Games cycle. Whether Srikanth's injury proves short-term or more serious will be closely watched in the coming days.