BWF Rankings: Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, Kidambi Srikanth rise; PV Sindhu holds on to 17th spot
The latest world rankings released by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Tuesday, August 1, saw a rise for each of India's top three men's singles shuttlers — HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth. Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu, however, stayed put at the 17th spot in women's singles despite her first-round exit from the Japan Open.
Lakshya Sen was India's best-performing player at last week's Super 750 tournament in Tokyo. The Commonwealth Games gold medalist's campaign came to an end in the semifinals at the hands of the Asian Games champion Jonatan Christie.
The performance triggered a rise of a couple of spots to No. 11 for the 21-year-old Indian.
Ahead of him at No. 9 is HS Prannoy, who climbed a solitary rung following his quarterfinal exit from the Japan Open.
Former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth, meanwhile, knocked out his nemesis Chou Tien Chen in the first round of the same tournament. Although he lost thereafter in the second round to HS Prannoy, the Guntur-born shuttler now finds himself at No. 19, up from his earlier ranking of No. 20.
Rising star Mithun Manjunath was the other mover in the men's singles category. Manjunath, who bowed out in the first round after a three-game thriller, jumped four spots to No. 50 in the latest rankings.
Orleans Masters champion Priyanshu Rajawat continues to hold on to his 31st ranking.
Apart from Sindhu in women's singles, Saina Nehwal dropped to 38th, while Aakarshi Kashyap and Malvika Bansod rose to 40th and 43rd, respectively. Ashmita Chaliha, meanwhile slid to 47th.
In men's doubles, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty maintain their second spot. MR Arjun/Dhruv Kapila, too, saw no change as they continue to be 27th.
In the women's doubles category, Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand soared a couple of rungs to be 17th.
In mixed doubles, Rohan Kapoor and Sikki Reddy plummeted two positions to be placed at 32nd.
Lakshya Sen & Co. in action at the Australian Open this week
The Indian contingent will be in action this week at the Australian Open, a Super 500 event held in Sydney. Lakshya Sen faces compatriot Kiran George in the first round while sixth-seeded HS Prannoy takes on World No. 15 Lee Cheuk Yiu in his opener.
Kidambi Srikanth has a tough job as he has been drawn against World No. 14 Kenta Nishimoto, a player who has already beaten him twice this year.
In women's singles, fifth seed PV Sindhu has an all-Indian first-round clash against rising star Ashmita Chaliha.
All of them kickstart their campaigns on Wednesday, August 2.