FULLERTON
Indian badminton stars enjoyed a fabulous opening day at the BWF US Open, securing several crucial victories to comfortably advance into the next round of the tournament.
In women’s singles, World Junior Championship silver medalist Tanvi Sharma kicked off her campaign in style by defeating Germany’s Yvonne Li in a tight 23-21, 21-16 battle. Fellow Indian star Devika Sihag, the reigning Thailand Masters champion, also cruised through her opening match with a dominant 21-14, 21-14 victory over Peru’s Ines Lucia Castillo.
The men’s singles draw featured two intense all-Indian clashes. Rising talent Rounak Chouhan pulled off a thrilling win against S. Sankar Muthusamy, wrapping up the match 23-21, 21-16. Soon after, fifth seed Kidambi Srikanth showed absolute class by dismantling compatriot D. Saneeth 21-14, 21-12 in just 30 minutes.
The winning streak continued across other categories as well. Rakshitha Sree safely advanced in women’s singles, while the seventh-seeded mixed doubles duo of Dhruv Rawat and K. Maneesha dispatched their Indonesian opponents in a swift 26-minute match. In women’s doubles, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand made a successful return to court by battling past a tough Spanish pair.
However, India’s top men’s doubles duo, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, skipped the tournament due to Satwik’s recent injury. Defending champion Ayush Shetty and veteran star HS Prannoy also opted out of this year’s edition. Despite these major absences, the remaining Indian contingent looks incredibly strong and poised for a deep tournament run.
