Birmingham: The All England Open Badminton Championships on Friday saw a mix of triumph and disappointment for Indian players.
India's top men's doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, faced a setback in the Round of 16 against Indonesia's Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Bagas Maulana, losing in straight games of 16-21, 15-21.
Despite their prior success in reaching finals in various tournaments, they were unable to overcome the aggressive play of their Indonesian opponents. This defeat marked the third loss for the Indians against the Indonesian duo, highlighting a challenging matchup.
In another disappointment for India, Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto were eliminated in the second round of the women's doubles competition, losing to the No. 6 pair of Zhang Xian and Zheng Yu in three games 11-21, 21-11, 11-21.
PV Sindhu, a prominent figure in Indian badminton and a double Olympic medalist, showed promise but ultimately fell short against world No. 1 An Se Young of Korea.
Despite putting up a tough fight, Sindhu couldn't rein in her mistakes, resulting in a 19-21, 11-21 loss. This marked her seventh consecutive loss to An Se Young, underscoring the Korean player's dominance.
However, there was a glimmer of hope for India as Lakshya Sen secured a remarkable victory over World No. 3 Anders Antonsen, advancing to the quarterfinals in a thrilling three-game match with scores of 24-22, 11-21, 21-14.
Sen's performance offers a beacon of hope for India to potentially secure silverware in the tournament.
