Ira Sharma qualifies for Canada Open main draw

Calgary

Indian badminton player Ira Sharma has reached the women’s singles main draw of the Canada Open 2025 after an impressive win in the qualifiers on Tuesday. Playing at the Markham Pan Am Centre in Calgary, Ira, ranked world No. 84, easily defeated Germany’s Miranda Wilson, ranked No. 119. She won 21-9, 21-13 in just 34 minutes. This was Ira’s second win over Wilson, showing her growing confidence on the court.

Last week, Ira had a strong run at the US Open, reaching the pre-quarterfinals after starting from the qualifiers. In the main draw of the Canada Open, she will face Bulgaria’s Kaloyana Nalbantova next. Other Indian players in the main draw include Shriyanshi Valishetty and Tanya Hemanth.

Meanwhile, in men’s singles, Chirag Sen failed to qualify after losing to Malaysia’s Eogene Ewe 21-14, 21-10. Sen is ranked 137th, while Ewe stands at 98th in the world rankings.

The men’s singles draw at the Canada Open is strong for India. Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth will compete along with US Open champion Ayush Shetty, Priyanshu Rajawat, and S Sankar Muthusamy. Only two Indian players will move to the second round as Rajawat, the seventh seed, will face Srikanth, while Ayush, the fifth seed, will play against Muthusamy in the opening round.

In mixed doubles, India’s top-seeded pair Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto will be the only Indian team in action at the tournament. Fans are looking forward to exciting matches ahead.