Badminton

Satwik felt the China Masters win came at the perfect time after a difficult period away from competitive badminton

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty say staying "mindfully aggressive" helped them break the China Masters jinx and the triumph has provided a "big boost" ahead of the Asian Games where they will go "all guns blazing" . It was third time lucky for the Indian duo as they produced a stirring comeback to beat China's He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu 11-21 21-13 21-17 and clinch the USD 1,250,000 China Masters Super 750 title here on Sunday on their third attempt. It was their second title of the 2026 season and first at this event. "Playing here is always good. We have always played (well) coming back from injury. In 2024 after Olympics we played here, we played semis. Then last year we played, we weren't in a good shape. We played finals," Satwik said. "I think this also, after coming back from injury, this has been a tournament where it gave us a lot of confidence. This week has been the same story. Except the first round, all the games we have played three games." Talking about t

Kidambi Srikanth's run at the China Masters Super 750 came to an end in the quarterfinals here on Friday as the former world No.1 was outplayed in straight games by Hong Kong's Lee Cheuk Yiu. The 33-year-old Indian, who had shown flashes of his vintage best while finishing runner-up at the US Open Super 300 earlier this year, went down 16-21, 16-21 to the 25th-ranked Lee Cheuk in a 39-minute contest. Srikanth had looked sharp in the previous round, dispatching world No.9 Victor Lai of Canada 21-18, 21-19 in the Round of 16. But against Lee Cheuk, the Indian found himself chasing the game for long stretches, particularly after surrendering the momentum midway through the opening game. Srikanth made a brisk start, racing to a 3-0 lead, but Lee Cheuk was quick to settle into a rhythm. The Hong Kong shuttler reeled off three points to level at 3-3 before turning the screws with a six-point burst that took him to 14-6. Srikanth tried to claw his way back, but the deficit proved too ste

Lakshya Sen will look to bounce back from the disappointment of his early exit at the World Championships but a tough opener awaits him when he spearheads the Indian challenge at the USD 1,250,000 China Masters Super 750, beginning here on Tuesday. Sen, who became the first Indian male shuttler to reach an Olympic semifinal in Paris two years ago before finishing fourth, will face France's newly-crowned world champion Alex Lanier in his opening match. The Indian has enjoyed some notable results this season, including a runner-up finish at the All England Championships, and will be keen to regain consistency against a strong field after a shock second-round loss to world number 92 Garret Tan at the Worlds. Former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth, meanwhile, faces Chinese Taipei's Chi Yu-jen after reaching the US Open Super 300 final in June, where he finished runner-up. His campaign on the Tour after that has been patchy. It was interrupted by an injury-forced retirement due to injury a

Treesa and Gayatri become only the second Indian women's doubles pair to win a medal at the BWF World Championships after Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa (2011)

The defeat ended Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty's hopes of adding another World Championships medal to their tally, having previously reached the semifinals in 2022 and 2025

The world No. 39 Indian pair, who entered the tournament unseeded, recovered from a slow start to defeat the Chinese combination 15-21, 21-16, 21-13

After beating the 16th seeds in the round of 32, Treesa-Gayatri stunned the seventh seeds to become the first Indian pair to reach the BWF Worlds 2026 quarterfinals

Unnati failed to capture match points twice in the final game as the 13th-seeded Canadian pulled off a hard-fought win to qualify for the pre-quarterfinals

The Indian pair dominated from the start, giving the Macau duo little room to settle into the contest

The unseeded pair dominated from the start, leaving little room for the USA duo as they won 21-15, 21-12 to book their place in the next round

Akane Yamaguchi, Kunlavut Vitidsarn and three other stars who turned junior success into senior world titles will be among the biggest attractions in New Delhi

Only two Indians have won a medal on their World Championships debut, i.e., PV Sindhu (2013) and Lakshya Sen (2021)

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy's recurring shoulder problem forced him and Chirag Shetty to retire from their Japan Open opener even as P V Sindhu eased into the women's singles second round with a straight-game win over Malaysia's Wong Ling Ching here on Tuesday. The world No.4 Indian pair, who ended a two-year title drought by winning the Singapore Open but had to withdraw from Indonesia Open last month, retired after losing the opening game 19-21 to Denmark's Daniel Lundgaard and Mads Vestergaard. Chief doubles coach Tan Kim Her said the Indian duo will be skipping the China Open next week and focus on rehabilitation to get back to shape for the home World Championships in August. "It still needs some time to recover. We have at least four weeks to get back in shape ahead of World Championships," Tan told PTI. Two-time Olympic-medallist Sindhu, who is currently world no. 10, produced a compact performance to notch up a 21-14 21-11 win over 37th-ranked Wong Ling Ching of Malaysia in the

All set for Japan Open, China Open and the World Badminton Championship, Sindhu tells Anushka Bhardwaj what it means to be playing post-30, and how she never had a plan B

The India Open Super 750 will be held in February next year and at the end of January in 2028, according to the World Tour Calendar for the next two years announced by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Tuesday. The 2026 edition of the country's flagship event was held from January 13 to 18 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium. It will now be staged from February 2 to 7 in 2027, and from January 25 to 30 in 2028 in the national capital. The 2026 edition had faced widespread criticism from elite international players over hazardous air quality, freezing indoor court temperatures, and concerns related to venue hygiene. The Syed Modi India International, which has been downgraded to a Super 100 event, will be held in Lucknow from July 27 to August 1 in 2027 and from July 25 to 30 in 2028. The BWF confirmed a 35-tournament global circuit for 2027 and 2028, ranging from Super 1000 to Super 100 levels, along with the season-ending World Tour Finals. The calendar will run year-round

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu suffered a second successive defeat to world No. 1 An Se Young in as many weeks to bow out of the Indonesia Open here on Thursday. Sindhu, who had also lost to the South Korean in the quarterfinals of last week's Singapore Open, showed spark but only in patches to go down 17-21, 14-21 in the round of 16 clash. The defeat extended Sindhu's losing streak against the reigning Olympic champion to 10 matches. The Indian is yet to register a win over An. The contest began on an even footing, with the scores locked at 10-10 midway through the opening game as Sindhu showcased glimpses of her best form and managed to put the Korean under pressure at times. She briefly edged ahead at 15-14 with some aggressive strokeplay, but An responded in trademark fashion, reeling off a series of points to take a 19-16 lead. The Korean then won two consecutive points, including a gruelling 41-shot rally, to seal the opening game. An carried that momentum into the se

Satwik and Chirag's win has not only ended their two-year-long wait for a trophy but also made them the first Indian pair to win the men's doubles event of the tournament

Senior players Chirag Shetty and HS Prannoy said the lack of public awareness and celebration around the achievement reflected the challenges non-cricket sports still face

India will be without the services of Lakshya Sen during their semifinal clash against France in the Thomas Cup Finals as he is recovering from a swollen right elbow. The 24-year-old Lakshya had saved two match points to script an 18-21 22-20 21-17 victory over world No. 6 Chou Tien Chen in a marathon clash lasting one hour and 28 minutes, as India notched up a commanding 3-0 win over Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals. However, the Commonwealth Games champion hurt his elbow while diving for a shot during an intense rally. "Lakshya is dealing with a swollen playing arm, particularly around the elbow, after his fall in yesterday's match against Chou Tien Chen. He is also struggling with blisters on his feet," former India coach and his mentor Vimal Kumar told PTI. With Lakshya unavailable, young Ayush Shetty will play the opening singles against world No. 4 Christo Popov, who had defeated the Indian in their only meeting at the Hylo Open in 2024. World No. 30 Kidambi Srikanth, who