India endured a difficult start to its campaign at the Canada Open Super 300, with experienced campaigner Kidambi Srikanth forced to retire midway through his opening round contest due to fitness concerns. Amid a string of early exits for the Indian contingent, Aakarshi Kashyap and Tanya Hemnath provided the only bright spots by securing places in the women’s singles second round.
The tournament, part of the BWF World Tour Super 300 circuit, is being held in Markham, Ontario, and has attracted several top international players seeking valuable ranking points ahead of the latter half of the season. For India, however, the opening day proved largely disappointing, with seven of the nine competing shuttlers failing to advance.
Srikanth’s withdrawal was particularly unfortunate given his recent return to form. The former world No. 1 had reached the final of the US Open Super 300 just days earlier, raising hopes of another deep run in Canada. Facing Paris Olympic bronze medallist Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia in the first round, the 33-year-old stayed competitive before deciding he could no longer continue.
The Indian was trailing 10-11 in the opening game when he consulted coach B. Sai Praneeth before retiring from the match because of fitness issues. While the exact nature of the problem has not yet been disclosed, the decision appeared precautionary after an intense week of competition in the United States.
Srikanth has enjoyed a resurgence in recent months after battling injuries and inconsistent form over the past few seasons. His runner up finish at the US Open marked one of his best performances on the BWF Tour in recent years and provided encouragement ahead of a packed international calendar. While Srikanth’s campaign ended prematurely, Aakarshi Kashyap delivered a composed performance to move into the second round. The Indian comfortably defeated France’s Anna Tatranova 21-14, 21-12, displaying solid control throughout the straight games victory.
The win sets up a significantly tougher challenge against fourth seed Beiwen Zhang of the United States. Zhang, a former world top 10 player, brings vast experience on the international circuit and will start as the favourite, but Aakarshi has shown encouraging progress over the last two seasons and will hope to continue her impressive run.
Tanya Hemnath also produced a confident display to join her compatriot in the second round. She defeated USA’s Disha Gupta 21-16, 21-18 in a closely contested encounter, maintaining her composure during crucial stages of both games. Tanya will next face Japan’s Riko Gunji, another promising young player who has steadily climbed the world rankings with consistent performances on the BWF World Tour. Elsewhere, India’s campaign suffered several setbacks across both singles and doubles events.
Fifth seed Devika Sihag, who captured her maiden BWF World Tour Super 300 title at the Thailand Masters earlier this year, suffered a surprise opening round defeat. The early exit came as a disappointment considering her strong performances in recent months, where she had established herself as one of India’s emerging women’s singles players.
Rakshitha Ramraj, champion at this year’s Vietnam International Challenge, fought hard before losing 21-15, 14-21, 15-21 to Canada’s Rachel Chan. Despite taking the opening game, the Indian was unable to maintain her momentum as the home player mounted a strong comeback. Another promising youngster, Shriyanshi Valishetty, also bowed out in the first round. The Al Ain Masters Super 100 champion lost 9-21, 18-21 against Chinese Taipei’s Huang Ching Pi despite showing improved resistance in the second game.
One of the most spirited performances came from Anmol Kharb, who pushed home favourite and tournament top seed Michelle Li to the limit. After dropping the first game 6-21, Anmol staged a remarkable comeback to edge the second game 26-24 before eventually losing the decider 13-21. Michelle Li, one of Canada’s most accomplished badminton players, has represented her country at multiple Olympic Games and remains one of the strongest competitors on the North American circuit.
India’s men’s singles campaign also ended quickly apart from Srikanth’s curtailed match. Saneeth Dayanand, who recently claimed silver at the Saint Denis Reunion Open, was outclassed 7-21, 11-21 by Japan’s third seed Yudai Okimoto. Sankar Subramanian produced a fighting display against Korea’s Yoo Tae-bin but eventually lost 21-19, 15-21, 15-21 after failing to capitalise on his first game advantage. The disappointment extended to the men’s doubles competition, where Achutaditya Rao Doddavarapu and Arjun Reddy Pochana were eliminated in the opening round, leaving India without representation in the discipline.
With only Aakarshi Kashyap and Tanya Hemnath remaining in the singles draw, India’s hopes at the Canada Open now rest on the two women’s shuttlers. Both face considerably tougher opponents in the second round, but advancing further would provide valuable ranking points and confidence ahead of upcoming BWF World Tour events.
As the international badminton season gathers momentum, Indian players will be eager to bounce back quickly, with several major tournaments still to come before the year’s biggest championships. Despite the difficult start in Canada, the performances of Aakarshi and Tanya offer encouraging signs for India’s next generation of women’s badminton talent.
