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In the opening round of the China Open 2026 badminton tournament held in Changzhou, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu triumphed over fellow Indian player Unnati Hooda. The match, which lasted 58 minutes, saw Sindhu, currently ranked 12th in the world, secure a victory with scores of 21-14, 9-21, and 21-10.

This win serves as a form of revenge for Sindhu, who was defeated by Hooda in the second round of last year's China Open. The 2016 champion is set to face the home favourite and Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medallist Chen Yufei in the round of 16. Sindhu enters this match with renewed confidence after her recent victory over the world No. 4 in the Japan Open semi-finals. Notably, she is the last Indian player remaining in the women's singles draw following Devika Sihag's exit in the first round.

In the men's singles category, both Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty have successfully moved on to the second round. Lakshya, a semi-finalist at the Paris 2024 Olympics, managed to defeat Japan's Yushi Tanaka with scores of 22-20, 15-21, and 21-14. Meanwhile, Ayush achieved an impressive upset against Malaysia's world No. 11 Alwi Faran, winning 21-17, 5-21, and 21-17. Unfortunately, HS Prannoy was eliminated from the tournament on Tuesday.

The doubles events proved to be disappointing for India, as all participating teams were eliminated in the first round. In mixed doubles, Olympians Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila faced a tough match against China's world No. 6 duo Guo Xinwa and Chen Fanghui, losing 21-18, 21-18. Similarly, Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde were defeated in straight games by the top-seeded Chinese pair Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping, with scores of 21-9, 21-16.

In men's doubles, MR Arjun and Hariharan Amsakarunan fell to China's fourth-seeded team Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang, losing 21-16, 21-7. Notably, there were no Indian representatives in the women's doubles category.