After a disappointing Day 1 for Indian shuttlers at the China Open 2025, Day 2 brought much needed cheer to Indian badminton fans. The day began with Panda sisters’ early exit but after that PV Sindhu, Satwik-Chirag and young Unnati Hooda all registered convincing wins to advance to the pre-quarterfinals of the prestigious Super 1000 tournament.
Women’s Singles
PV Sindhu opened her China Open 2025 campaign with a win over 18-year-old world No. 6 Tomoka Miyazaki, reaching the women’s singles pre-quarterfinals. The world No. 15 battled for over an hour to win 21-17, 8-21, 21-15. This is Sindhu’s first win this season against a top 10 ranked opponent.
Sindhu started strong in the opening game, using her reach and accurate shots that kept Miyazaki under pressure and closed the game 21-17.
In the second game, the momentum shifted. Miyazaki came back strongly, dominating rallies and forcing errors from Sindhu to win the game 21-8.
In the decider, Sindhu stepped up strong. Aware of the drift on one side of the court, she made a strong start and gained a strong 11-2 lead before the interval. After the change of sides, Sindhu stayed calm, controlled the pace, and maintained a comfortable gap to close out the match 21-15.
Reflecting on the victory, Sindhu said: “It was a much awaited win for me. I’ve had a few close three-game matches where I ended up on the losing side. So this win gives me a lot of belief. I need to maintain this momentum moving forward.”
She added: “For me, the most satisfying thing was staying positive right from the beginning. I think I showed a lot of patience today. I focused on keeping the shuttle inside the lines and reduced my unforced errors. That consistency is what I’m really happy about.”
Seventeen-year-old Unnati Hooda produced a dominant performance to defeat world No. 29 Kirsty Gilmour 21-11, 21-16 to book her place in the pre-quarterfinals.
Unnati controlled the opening game right from the start, racing to 11-6 lead at the interval before closing it out comfortably at 21-11.
In the second game, she was trailing 8-13 but staged an impressive comeback, not allowing Gilmour any chance to recover and sealed the match.
Sindhu and Unnati will face each other in an all-India clash in the Round of 16.
Men’s Doubles
Former world No. 1 duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty cruised into the pre-quarterfinals with a commanding 21-13, 21-9 win over Japan’s Kenya Mitsuhashi and Hiroki Okamura.
Sat-Chi took an early lead in the first game and won it easily 21-13. In the second game, they played even better, not giving the Japanese pair any chance to fight back and finished the match with a strong 21-9 win.
Up next, they will take on the Indonesian pair of Leo Rolly Carnando and Bagas Maulana.