US Open 2023: How did the Indian shuttlers fare at the tournament?
India did not have a lot to cheer for in the recent US Open 2023 BWF World Tour event that took place from July 11 to 16. Lakshya Sen was the stand-out performer after he advanced to the semis where he lost 11-21, 24-22, 17-21 to China’s Li Shi Feng.
Sen was one of the favourites to win the tournament after he triumphed in the Canada Open 2023 by beating the same opponent in the final.
In the Canada Open final, Sen won in straight sets, but his Chinese opponent made a strong comeback in the USA.
Sankar Muthuswamy Subramanian made his way through to the quarters before losing to compatriot Lakshya Sen 10-21, 17-21 in straight sets.
Subramanian played in the qualifiers before entering the main rounds. Parupalli Kashyap also took part in the qualifiers, but crashed out after losing to Japan’s K Takahashi 21-23, 7-11.
In the women’s singles at the US Open, PV Sindhu failed to go beyond the quarters after losing 20-22, 13-21 to China’s Gao Fangije.
Due to the defeat, Sindhu also dropped five places to No.17 in the latest BWF World Rankings. It happens to be her worst ranking since 2013.
India’s disappointing campaign in doubles in US Open 2023
In the doubles events of the US Open - men’s, women’s, and mixed - India had to return empty-handed as well. In the men’s doubles, Krishna Prasad Garaga and Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala crashed out in the opening round after losing 14-21, 14-21 to the Taiwanese pair of Lin Chun-Yi and L Su.
In the women’s doubles, the duo of Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda could not go past the Round of 32. They retired before their match against Jackie Dent and Crystal Lai.
The pair of Apeksha Nayak and Ramya Chickmenhalli Venkatesh also retired before their match against Canada’s E Zhang and Jeslyn Chow. India did not have any participants in the mixed doubles.