New Delhi: India enjoyed a productive day at the Singapore Badminton Open 2026 as PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, and the men’s doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the quarter-finals with commanding performances on Thursday.
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu continued her impressive run in the women’s singles competition with a straight-game victory over Japan’s Riko Gunji. The Indian shuttler wrapped up the contest 21-9, 21-12 in only 37 minutes to move into the last eight.
Sindhu, currently ranked No. 11 in the world, had earlier defeated Indonesia’s Putri Kusuma Wardani in the opening round and now faces a major challenge against reigning Olympic champion and world No. 1 An Se-young. The Indian star is yet to register a win against the South Korean in their previous eight meetings, according to olympics.com.
In men’s doubles, Asian Games gold medallists Rankireddy and Shetty were tested by Chinese Taipei pair Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan before sealing a 21-15, 11-21, 21-18 win in a three-game battle.
The Indian combination will next face Malaysia’s Aaron Tai and Kang Khai Xing for a place in the semi-finals.
India also made progress in mixed doubles as Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila bounced back after losing the opening game to defeat Japan’s Maya Taguchi and Yuta Watanabe 8-21, 21-17, 21-16.
The Indian pair now prepares for a tough quarter-final clash against the world No. 4 Malaysian duo Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei.
In men’s singles, Lakshya Sen’s passage to the quarter-finals came under unusual circumstances after Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn retired from the match just a minute after play began.
Lakshya Sen will now face Japan’s Koki Watanabe in the quarter-finals on Friday.
However, it was the end of the road for HS Prannoy, who lost a hard-fought round of 16 contest to Singapore’s former world champion Loh Kean Yew 21-18, 16-21, 21-15.
