Hong Kong Open 2025: Six Indian Shuttlers March into Pre-Quarters

Hong Kong, Sep 10 — Indian badminton players had a successful day at the Li-Ning Hong Kong Open 2025, with six shuttlers advancing to the Round of 16 from their opening matches on Tuesday.

In men’s singles, Ayush Shetty, fresh off his US Open title win, displayed grit after losing the opening game 15-21 to Chinese Taipei’s Su Li Yang. The 20-year-old bounced back to clinch the next two games 21-19, 21-13 in a 64-minute thriller.

Fellow Indian Kiran George breezed past Singapore’s Jia Heng Jason Teh 21-16, 21-11 in just 34 minutes, while Lakshya Sen battled past Chinese Taipei’s Wang Tzu Wei 22-20, 16-21, 21-15 in a marathon 73-minute encounter. HS Prannoy also impressed, defeating China’s Lu Guang Zu 21-17, 21-14 in 44 minutes.

In women’s doubles, the Panda sisters Rutaparna and Swetaparna powered into the next round with a dominant 21-17, 21-9 win over local pair Pang Oi Ki Vanessa and Sum Yau Wong in just 28 minutes.

Meanwhile, in women’s singles, Anupama Upadhyaya showed resilience against fourth seed Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan. After levelling the match 17-21, 22-20, she fell short in the decider 14-21.

However, it was an early exit for PV Sindhu, Rakshitha Sree, and mixed doubles pairs Dhruv Kapila/Tanisha Crasto and Rohan Kapoor/Ruthvika Shivani, who bowed out of the tournament on Day 2.

The six advancing shuttlers will now aim to carry forward India’s challenge in the pre-quarterfinals.