In the ongoing Japan Open 2026, PV Sindhu has advanced to the second round after a convincing straight-games victory. However, the men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty retired from their opening match due to an injury on Tuesday.
PV Sindhu defeated Malaysia’s Wong Ling Ching 21-14, 21-11, to claim her place in the last 16. She controlled the contest from the start, building early leads in both games and went on to seal the match in straight games.
However, for the world No. 4 men’s doubles pair, the day wasn’t off to a great start. Satwik and Chirag had to be retired after dropping the opening game 19-21 against Denmark’s Mads Vestergaard and Daniel Lundgaard due to Satwik’s recurring shoulder injury.
Chief doubles coach, Tan Kim Her, confirmed to the PTI that the pair would skip next week’s China Open to focus on rehabilitation ahead of the BWF World Championships, which are set to take place in New Delhi next month.
In the mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto defeated Scotland’s Alexander Dunn and Julie Macpherson 21-16, 21-14 to advance to the second round.
However, Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde exited the tournament after suffering a 21-11, 21-10 defeat to top seeds Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping of China.
Later that day, Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun were scheduled to begin their men’s doubles campaign against Chinese Taipei’s Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan.
With the World Championships and Asian Games fast approaching, India’s players will be hoping to build momentum; however, the injury concerns regarding Satwik-Chirag will be closely monitored.
