Thailand Open: PV Sindhu, Satwik-Chirag storm into quarter-finals

PV Sindhu and the men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the quarter-finals with commanding second-round wins at the Thailand Open.

In Short

• PV Sindhu will face world champion Akane Yamaguchi next
• Satwik-Chirag advanced to the quarters with a straight-game win
• Satwik-Chirag will meet Japan's Nomura and Shimogami in quarters

Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu and the men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the quarter-finals of the BWF Super 500 tournament in Bangkok with commanding straight-game wins.

Sindhu, the two-time Olympic medallist, defeated Denmark’s Amalie Schulz 21-13, 21-15 in just 28 minutes to continue her smooth progress in the women’s singles draw. The former world champion looked in control throughout the contest, using her sharp movement and attacking play to close out another comfortable victory after her opening-round win over Chinese Taipei’s Tung Ciou-Tong.

The Indian, currently ranked world No. 12, will next face reigning world champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in what promises to be one of the marquee quarter-final clashes. Sindhu holds a narrow 15-13 edge in their head-to-head record.

In men’s doubles, top seeds Satwik and Chirag defeated Malaysia’s Bryan Jeremy Goonting and Muhammad Haikal 21-12, 21-19 to move into the last eight. The Indians dominated the opening game with aggressive play at the net and maintained composure in a tighter second game to complete the win in straight games.

The former champions had begun their campaign with a hard-fought 21-19, 21-23, 21-10 victory over Indonesia’s Muh Putra Erwiansyah and Bagas Maulana. Satwik and Chirag, champions here in 2019 and 2024, remain the only top seeds in the draw with previous title-winning experience at the tournament.

The Indian pair will next take on Japan’s sixth-seeded combination of Takumi Nomura and Yuichi Shimogami for a place in the semi-finals.

Elsewhere, India’s challenge remained active across categories with Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, Malvika Bansod and Thailand Masters 2026 champion Devika Sihag scheduled to play later in the day.

Srikanth had already made a strong start to the tournament by upsetting Singapore’s eighth seed Loh Kean Yew 21-14, 21-15 in the opening round. Lakshya, returning after the injury he suffered during the Thomas Cup, beat Singapore’s Jia Heng Jason Teh 21-16, 21-17 in 43 minutes.

Devika advanced through the preliminary round with a win over Japan’s N. Nidaira, while Bansod battled past Zhang Wen Yu in three games. Still recovering from ACL surgery on her left knee, Bansod came back from a game down to win 13-21, 26-24, 21-13.

There was disappointment, however, for world No. 48 Unnati Hooda, whose run ended in the opening round after a spirited fight against China’s world No. 4 Chen Yu Fei. The Indian lost 21-19, 13-21, 18-21 in a contest lasting one hour and 10 minutes.

- Ends