The Indian badminton contingent at the BWF Thailand Open 2026 has made a winning start at the Nimibutr Stadium on May 13, Wednesday, with star shuttlers Lakshya Sen, PV Sindhu, and the powerhouse duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty all securing their places in the round of 16. Check the full report from Day 1 at the BWF Super 500 tournament in Bangkok below.
PV Sindhu def. Tung Ciou-Tong: 21-9, 21-12
PV Sindhu kicked off the day with a stunning victory over Chinese Taipei’s Tung Ciou-Tong in the round of 32. The double Olympic medalist was in her signature aggressive form, wrapping up a dominant 21-9, 21-12 victory in just 33 minutes.
Sindhu, who is still in the hunt for her first title of the year, will now take on Amalie Schulz of Denmark in the pre-quarterfinals on Thursday.Â
Winning starts for Satwik-Chirag, PV Sindhu, and Kidambi Srikanth at the Thailand Open 2026! ✅
You can catch all the action LIVE on the BWF YouTube channel! 📺
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— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) May 13, 2026
Lakshya Sen def. Jason Teh: 21-16, 21-17
The world No. 11 Lakshya Sen also clinched a winning start in his opening match against Singapore’s Jia Heng Jason Teh. The match began with Teh taking a surprising 6-3 lead, keeping Lakshya on his toes with sharp attacks. Lakshya eventually found his range, moving his opponent across the court to claw his way back and clinch the first game 21-16.
The second game followed a similar script, with Jason Teh again racing to an early 8-4 lead. Lakshya remained under pressure and working the rallies to close the gap. He eventually turned the momentum in his favor to seal the game 21-17, completing the victory in 43 minutes.
Satwik-Chirag def. Putra-Bagas: 21-19, 21-23, 21-10.
India’s top and world-ranked 4 men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty survived a massive scare on Tuesday, eventually overcoming Indonesia’s Erwiansyah and Maulana 21-19, 21-23, 21-10.
After trailing 11-16 in the first game, the top seeds rallied to win 21-19. Despite dropping a tense second-game deuce 21-23 to the unseeded Indonesian duo, Satwik-Chirag dominated the decider 21-10 with relentless smashes.
Srikanth Kidambi def. Loh Kean Yew: 21-14, 21-15
The day also saw a vintage performance from former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth, who pulled off a big upset by knocking out the eighth seed, Loh Kean Yew. Srikanth was in total control, using his exquisite stroke play to secure a 21-14, 21-15 win over the former World Champion.
The Indian veteran will take on Su Li-yang of Chinese Taipei in the round of 16 tomorrow.Â
Ayush Shetty Ends Campaign
Ayush Shetty on the other hand, In the men’s singles, suffered an early exit, but not without putting up a massive fight against the sixth seed, Kodai Naraoka. After losing the first game 13-21, Ayush bounced back brilliantly to take the second 21-17, forcing a decider. However, the Japanese star’s relentless defense and pace proved too much in the final set, with Ayush eventually falling 4-21.
Meanwhile, adding to the joy for the Indian camp, youngster Devika Sihag showed heart to defeat Japan’s Natsuki Nidaira 21-19, 13-21, 21-15, marking one of the biggest victories of her young career.
