Sindhu and Lakshya Crash Out of Thailand Open, Satwik-Chirag March Into Semifinals

India's challenge at the BWF Super 500 Thailand Open in Bangkok was whittled down to a single pair on Friday as PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen both fell at the quarterfinal stage , leaving the top-seeded men's doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty as the country's sole remaining hope for a title .

Sindhu, the two-time Olympic medallist and sixth seed, squandered a first-game advantage to go down 21-19, 18-21, 15-21 to Japan's top seed and world number three Akane Yamaguchi in the women's singles quarterfinal. Sindhu had entered the match with a strong 15-11 head-to-head record and took a tight opening game after a fierce battle at 19-19. However, Yamaguchi raised her intensity in the next two games, dominating the rallies with greater authority to seal a place in the semifinals.

The men's singles brought more disappointment as Lakshya Sen produced a spirited effort but went down 19-21, 16-21 against home favourite and second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn in their quarterfinal at Nimibutr Stadium. Vitidsarn raced to an early lead in the first game, and although Lakshya briefly fought back with a run of points, he could not recover against the Olympic silver medallist. The second game followed a similar pattern as the Thai shuttler maintained control to close out the match.

Vitidsarn has now set up a semifinal clash with fourth seed Chou Tien-chen.

The only bright note for India came from Rankireddy and Shetty, who were in dominant form . The world number four pair dismantled Japan’s Takumi Nomura and Yuichi Shimogami 21-12, 21-13 in just 41 minutes , booking their first semifinal appearance at a BWF World Tour event in 2026.

They will next face either Malaysia’s third-seeded pair Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin or Scotland’s Christopher Grimley and Matthew Grimley in the last four. The pair will be aiming to reclaim the Thailand Open title , having last won it in 2024.

India entered the quarterfinals with optimism across three categories, but the singles exits underline the gap at the top level of world badminton . With Satwik and Chirag carrying the national hopes into the semifinals, a title charge remains within reach .