New Delhi: Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu has set the tone for India’s campaign at the Singapore Badminton Open 2026 with a composed straight-games victory, even as several of her compatriots endured early exits on Tuesday at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Sindhu produced a 21-17, 21-18 win over Indonesia’s Putri Kusuma Wardani, a World Championships bronze medallist, in a tightly contested women’s singles clash. After recovering from a mid-game deficit in the opening game, Sindhu finished strongly in both sets, holding her nerve in the closing stages to seal the match in just under an hour, according to olympics.com.
Elsewhere, India’s men’s singles challenge took an early hit as Ayush Shetty bowed out in the first round after a three-game defeat to Canada’s Victor Lai. The world No. 20 started confidently and even led early in the match, but could not sustain the momentum as the World Championships medallist fought back to win 11-21, 21-14, 21-12.
In women’s singles, Unnati Hooda also exited early after a straight-games loss to Japan’s Tomoka Miyazaki, going down 21-14, 21-10 against the eighth seed.
India had better fortunes in men’s doubles as fourth seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty staged a comeback win against the American pair of Chen Zhi Yi and Presley Smith. After dropping a tight opening game 26-28, the Indians regrouped strongly to take the next two games 21-15, 21-13 and advance to the second round.
However, MR Arjun and Hariharan Amsakarunan could not progress, losing 21-15, 21-13 to Japan’s seventh seeds Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi.
In women’s doubles, both Indian pairs exited in the opening round. Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singhi fought back after losing the opener but eventually went down 18-21, 21-13, 21-5 to Spain’s Paula Lopez and Lucia Rodriguez. Ashwini Bhat K and Shikha Gautam were defeated 21-16, 21-11 by Chinese Taipei’s Chang Ching-hui and Yang Ching-Tun.
India also suffered an early setback in mixed doubles, where Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde lost a close contest 21-18, 22-20 against the same Chinese Taipei pair.
India’s remaining singles hopes, including Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, and Malvika Bansod, are scheduled to begin their campaigns on Wednesday.
