Kidambi Srikanth and Ayush Shetty advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the Taipei Open 2025 badminton tournament with dominant victories in their men’s singles matches on Wednesday.
Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth, now ranked 82nd globally, defeated compatriot Sankar Subramanian, the world No. 55, in just 35 minutes. Srikanth won 21-16, 21-15 to set up a second-round encounter against Ayush Shetty, who also secured a remarkable victory.
Shetty, ranked 44th in the world, faced local third seed Lee Chia Hao, ranked No. 13 and a runner-up at this year’s All England Championship. Despite Lee leading early in both games, Shetty made impressive comebacks to win 21-17, 21-18, causing an upset.
Tharun Mannepalli also progressed to the round of 16 after defeating Japanese shuttler Shogo Ogawa in a thrilling match. Mannepalli triumphed 21-17, 19-21, 21-12 and will now face Indonesian Mohammad Zaki Ubaidillah.
Meanwhile, Meiraba Maisnam’s singles campaign ended in the round of 32 with a tough 23-21, 21-12 loss to Canadian seventh seed Brian Yang.
In the women’s singles category, Unnati Hooda advanced by defeating Anupama Upadhyaya 21-13, 21-17. However, Aakarshi Kashyap was eliminated after a 21-9, 21-12 loss to Chinese Taipei’s Hung Yi-Ting, and Anmol Kharb bowed out after falling 21-17, 21-12 to Thailand’s Thamonwan Nithiittikrai.
Rakshitha Ramraj also faced defeat, losing to Republic of Korea’s second seed Sim Yu-jin 21-7, 21-15 in the day’s final match.
In women’s doubles, Rashmi Ganesh/Sania Sikkandar were knocked out in the first round, losing 21-8, 21-10 to Japan’s Rui Hirokami and Sayaka Hobara in just 27 minutes.
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