India's star shuttler PV Sindhu produced an impressive performance on Thursday, defeating higher-ranked Japanese opponent Tomoka Miyazaki to book her spot in the women's singles quarterfinals of the Malaysia Open Super 1000 badminton tournament.
India ace Lakshya Sen made a fine start to the new season, advancing to the men's singles second round with a hard-fought win over Jia Heng Jason Teh of Singapore at the Malaysia Open Super 750 badminton tournament on Tuesday.
With renewed vigour, Indian shuttlers, including the experienced duo of Lakshya Sen and P V Sindhu, will eye a strong start to the year when they take on the world's best at the season-opening USD 1,450,000 Malaysia Open Super 1000 tournament, beginning on Tuesday.
Indian badminton navigated a difficult 2025 marked by injuries and uneven top-level performances.
PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen and the star pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty will form the core of Indian squad to take part in the Badminton Asia Team Championships.
Facing world No. 26 Tanaka, winner of two Super 300 titles this year at the Orléans Masters and the US Open, Lakshya displayed crisp control, sharp placement and clean execution to wrap up the contest without dropping a game.
Star Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen stormed into the men's singles final of the Australian Open Super 500 with a gritty three-game win over world No. 6 Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei, on Saturday.
Sen is the only Indian remaining in men's singles after senior pros Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth had made early exits on Thursday.
World championship bronze-medallist shuttler Lakshya Sen overcame a resolute Ayush Shetty in straight games to secure a place in the men's singles semifinals at the Australian Open.
Five Indian shuttlers dished out impressive performances to reach the men's singles second round at the USD 475,000 Australian Open Super 500 event.