The Indian contingent endured a heartbreaking start to their BWF German Open 2026 campaign. Teen sensation Tanvi Sharma, along with Kiran George and Tharun Mannepalli, bowed out of the tournament. However, India’s hopes are not completely dashed yet, as former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth continues to stand tall.
The 33-year-old, who is seeking his first title since 2017, advanced to the Round of 16 after a dominant 21-12, 21-11 victory over Poland’s Mikolaj Szymanowski.
The match began on a worrying note for Srikanth, as the Polish shuttler raced to an early 7-2 lead in the opening game. But Srikanth quickly recovered from the five-point deficit to level the score at 7-7. From there, he took complete control, stretching the lead to 17-11 before sealing the first game comfortably. In the second game, the Indian veteran continued his dominance, moving ahead 11-4 and later 15-6, eventually closing out the match in straight games.
Srikanth will now face fourth seed Lin Chun-Yi of Chinese Taipei in the pre-quarterfinals.
The other two Indian contenders in men’s singles, Kiran George and Tharun Mannepalli, suffered defeats in their respective first round matches.
George went down to French top seed Christo Popov 10-21, 20-22. Meanwhile, Mannepalli lost in straight games 18-21, 18-21 to Wang Tzu Wei of Chinese Taipei, bringing their campaigns to an early end.
Women’s Singles:
India’s challenge in women’s singles also ended in the opening round.
Junior World silver medallist Tanvi Sharma fought hard but lost 21-19, 17-21, 21-16 to Malaysia’s Wong Ling Ching. On the other hand, Malvika Bansod lost to World No. 21 Beiwen Zhang (USA) in a three-game battle, 19-21, 21-9, 19-21.
Rakshitha Sree Santhosh Ramraj was also defeated by Denmark’s Line Christophersen 18-21, 23-21, 16-21. Tasnim Mir fell to top seed Wang Zhi Yi (China) 9-21, 14-21. Aakarshi Kashyap lost to Huang Yu-Hsun of Chinese Taipei 21-13, 21-17. Isharani Baruah went down to Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong 21-15, 21-18.
Women’s Doubles:
In the doubles categories, Indian pairs also struggled. Ashwini Bhat and Sikha Gautam exited in the opening round losing to the Chinese Taipei duo Hsu Yin-Hui and Lin Jhih-Yun 14-21, 21-14, 8-21. Meanwhile Nishu Malik and Muskan Sangwan failed to progress beyond the qualification stage.
