All posts tagged: India Open badminton

India Open Super 750: Lakshya Sen, Priyanshu Rajawat, HS Prannoy bow out in round one as giddy days of men’s singles feel distant | Badminton News

India Open Super 750: Lakshya Sen, Priyanshu Rajawat, HS Prannoy bow out in round one as giddy days of men’s singles feel distant | Badminton News

Published by Webster

It wasn’t too long ago that Priyanshu Rajawat stood at the center of the top podium spot in Bangkok as the new kid on the block, lifting the famous Thomas Cup trophy. Standing alongside, among others, were the leaders Srikanth Kidambi and HS Prannoy, and the next big thing, Lakshya Sen. Two young men with a lot of promise, two veterans who pulled the team through in tough situations. The triumph was perhaps an achievement that hasn’t received its due credit, but it was an incredible high for Indian badminton. To be World Champions in the most prestigious team event. Just under 1000 days from then, none of those singles players have managed to get past the first round at the India Open Super 750. On Wednesday, Priyanshu and Prannoy lost in three games while Lakshya looked well off the pace in a straight-games defeat. And Srikanth isn’t ranked high enough to enter the main draw of these events anymore and pulled out on Tuesday despite getting a late call-up. On a cold, foggy day …

India Open badminton: Close friends Anupama Upadhyaya & Rakshitha Ramraj keen to take the next step on big circuit | Badminton News

India Open badminton: Close friends Anupama Upadhyaya & Rakshitha Ramraj keen to take the next step on big circuit | Badminton News

Published by Webster

“I couldn’t play hard smashes because she returned everything,” Rakshitha Sree Santosh Ramraj burst out smiling, speaking about Anupama Upadhyaya, her opponent on the day. “By the time she hit 20 strokes, I was tired. I had back pain for the past month and started playing only a week ago. My stamina was zero, and this girl knew it!” More hearty laughter. “And she made me do the tosses!” “Come on! Don’t say that. The court was damn slow!” Anupama chimed in, defending as well as she did on court. “How can I hit smashes at you? You’ll convert it, and then I will have to run more… Everyone is playing only rallies here.” But Rakshitha was having none of it: “But you know I was injured!” They emerged from the playing area after a hard-fought, sometimes scrappy, first-round match at the India Open on Wednesday, still sweating profusely after their 43-minute battle. Anupama, 19, had gotten the better of Rakshitha, 17, in the all-Indian clash 21-17, 21-18. But as they started speaking to the …

Badminton: Why BAI decided to introduce online ticketing system for India Open 2025 | Badminton News

Badminton: Why BAI decided to introduce online ticketing system for India Open 2025 | Badminton News

Published by Webster

For the first time, the India Open badminton tournament will have paid tickets, and an online-only paperless process to go along with it. Even after being upgraded to a Super 750 event on the BWF World Tour for the last couple of editions, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) continued with the tradition of having free tickets for the event that takes place at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Delhi. Last year, the turnout was especially impressive over the last couple of rounds, with Indians HS Prannoy and Satwik-Chirag in action. But the process to get tickets was cumbersome as fans had to come to the venue a day earlier to pick up free paper tickets to be present for next day’s matches. Most importantly, the BAI wanted to trial this system before hosting the World Championships in 2026. “BWF says that for World Championships, it is mandatory to have a ticketing system in place,” BAI secretary general Sanjay Mishra told The Indian Express. “We are trying this for the first time, as we …

Indians in action, live streaming info, when and where to watch

Indians in action, live streaming info, when and where to watch

Published by Webster

The India Open Super 750, the year’s second BWF World Tour event, is set to get underway at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall in New Delhi on Tuesday. PV Sindhu in women’s singles, Lakshya Sen in men’s singles and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty in men’s doubles will lead the Indian challenge, with the country fielding its biggest-ever contingent at the BWF World Tour event. A total of 21 Indian shuttlers will compete at the event, including three men’s singles, four women’s singles, two men’s doubles, eight women’s doubles, and four mixed doubles pairs. The tournament will see intense competition from shuttlers from across the world. World No. 1 Shi Yuqi, recently crowned the Malaysia Open champion, and Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen will be among the big names who will vie for the glory in the men’s singles category. Lakshya, who made a first-round exit in the Malaysia Open last week, will begin his campaign against China’s Weng Hong Yang, a tricky opponent who can take the best out of any opponent. In the head-to-head record, both …

Can Lakshya Sen and Satwik-Chirag replicate their 2022 feats?

Can Lakshya Sen and Satwik-Chirag replicate their 2022 feats?

Published by Webster

The 2025 BWF World Tour caravan enters its second week, and this is the time of year when the Indian capital, New Delhi, comes alive with badminton action as the India Open Super 750, a marquee event on the calendar, gets underway on Tuesday. Hopes will be high for the Indian shuttlers to turn their fortunes around this year. Last year, no Indian player managed to clinch the crown at home. The men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty came the closest but fell short in the final against Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae. The last time Indians triumphed at the event was in 2022, when the nation celebrated two titles with Lakshya Sen capturing the men’s singles crown, while Satwik-Chirag claimed the men’s doubles crown. Onus on Satwik-Chirag This year, too, India will pin its hopes on its most celebrated doubles pairing, Satwik and Chirag, to win a title. They began their campaign in the new season with a semi-final appearance at the Malaysia Open Super 1000. Reaching the semi-finals …

Saina Nehwal to Satwik-Chirag – A look at all India Open badminton winners

Saina Nehwal to Satwik-Chirag – A look at all India Open badminton winners

Published by Webster

The third edition of the India Open Super 750 is all set to begin at the KD Jadhav Indoor Arena in Delhi on Tuesday. Top Indian players including the likes of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty, Lakshya Sen and others will be in action during the event. The India Open has been held annually since 2008, except for 2020 and 2021 when the tournament was cancelled due to the covid-19 pandemic. The India Open was held as a Grand Prix gold event for its first three editions before being upgraded to a Superseries tournament. It was then upgraded to a Super 500 event in 2018 before being further pushed up to Super 750 in 2023. Though India Open became a regular feature in the BWF calendar only in 2008, the event was held for the first time in 1973. Here, we take a look at all the Indian shuttlers, who have won the India Open titles: Prakash Padukone in 1981 The legendary Prakash Padukone was the first Indian shuttler to clinch the India Open title. He achieved …

Lakshya, Prannoy, Satwik-Chirag handed tough draws

Lakshya, Prannoy, Satwik-Chirag handed tough draws

Published by Webster

The India Open Super 750, the season’s second BWF World Tour event, is set to kick off on January 14 at the KD Jadhav Hall in New Delhi. Celebrating its third year, the tournament will serve as a melting pot of excellence and fandom, bringing together the best players and passionate fans for a true badminton spectacle. With top stars like Olympic champions Viktor Axelsen and An Se Young, along with World No. 1 Shi Yuqi, leading the field, this edition promises a thrilling display of skill and precision. World No. 12 Lakshya Sen has been handed a tricky draw. The country’s top men’s singles player will face World No. 20 Weng Hongyang of China, known for his spirited performances on the World Tour. Even if Lakshya overcomes Weng, the Chinese challenge will persist, with World No. 1 Shi Yuqi and World No. 7 Li Shifeng placed in the same half of the draw. Priyanshu Rajawat faces a tough first-round opponent in World No. 8 Kodai Naraoka of Japan. In the same half of the …

Priyanshu steals a march over Lakshya Sen with a fantastic 16-21, 21-16, 21-13 win | Badminton News

Published by Webster

It was deja vu for Lakshya Sen at the India Open. And not the good kind. He’d have come in hoping for a repeat of the 2022 season, where he went on to win the title. Instead, it was a reminder of 2023 where he lost in the second round. That day last year, he lost in the second round after taking the lead in the match against Rasmus Gemke of Denmark. In the decider, he started poorly and trailed 1-8, never recovering from that. This year, he lost in the opening round against his good friend Priyanshu Rajawat. Once again in the decider, he trailed 1-9, and that made all the difference in the end. “The start of the decider could have been much better,” Lakshya said afterward, much as he had done a year back. “Credit to him, but a bunch of unforced errors from me. I think consistently playing my natural game (is where I am struggling at the moment), giving away too many loose points. I do come with a game-plan …

India Open 2024: For HS Prannoy and Co, home comfort calling as badminton’s top stars descend on New Delhi | Badminton News

Published by Webster

Kunlavut Vitidsarn and An Se Young made a fine start to 2023, winning titles at the India Open. Few months down the line, the two of them would go on to be crowned World Champions in Copenhagen. As the race to Paris 2024 heats up, the two defending champions and reigning Worlds gold medallists will be back in New Delhi alongside a galaxy of badminton stars as the capital hosts the 2024 edition of the India Open Super 750 starting from Tuesday. The India Open has been the prime BWF event in the country for more than a decade, but last year saw a significant upgrade as the tournament was moved up to Super 750 status, just two levels below the top grade on the World Tour. For starters, as one of the six Super 750 events on the circuit, BWF mandates that a group defined by rankings as ‘Top Committed Players’ will be required to play, barring injuries and medical situations. As one of the two major events in January, especially at the start …