Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu and men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the quarter-finals of the BWF Super 500 in Bangkok with a commanding straight-match win.
Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, defeated Denmark’s Amalie Schulz 21-13, 21-15 in just 28 minutes to continue her smooth run in the women’s singles draw. The former world champion looked to be in control throughout the match, with her sharp movement and attacking play to seal another comfortable victory after an opening round win over China’s Tung Ciou-Tong of Taipei.
The Indian, currently world number 12, will next face reigning world champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in one of the marquee quarter-final bouts. Sindhu holds a narrow 15-13 edge in their head-to-head record.
In the 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 kept their composure in a tighter second game to complete the win in straight games.
The former champions began their campaign with a hard-fought 21-19, 21-23, 21-10 victory over Indonesians 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 experience of winning the tournament.
The Indian pair will face 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 already had a good start to the tournament when he upset Singapore’s eighth seed Loh Kean Yew 21-14, 21-15 in the opening round. Lakshya, who made a comeback from an injury sustained during the Thomas Cup, beat Singapore’s Jia Heng Jason Teh 21-16, 21-17 in 43 minutes.
Devika advanced past the preliminary round with a win over Japan’s N. Nidaira, while Bansod cruised past Zhang Wen Yu in three games. Still recovering from surgery on her left knee, Bansod came back from the match to win 13-21, 26-24, 21-13.
However, there was disappointment for world number 48 Unnati Hooda, whose run ended in the opening round after a spirited battle against China’s world number four Chen Yu Fei. The Indian lost 21-19, 13-21, 18-21 in a contest lasting one hour and 10 minutes.
– The end
Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
May 14, 2026 1:41 PM IST
