Sindhu Storms into Thailand Open QF, Sat-Chirag Join Her

Thai badminton courts witnessed Indian prowess on Thursday as PV Sindhu and the dynamic duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty secured quarterfinal berths at the Thailand Open 2026, a BWF Super 500 event. Sindhu, ranked 12th globally, made light work of Amalie Schulz from Denmark, prevailing 21-13, 21-15 in a brisk 28-minute encounter. Building on her first-round rout of Tung Siou-Yu (21-9, 21-12), the former world champion now prepares for a high-stakes quarterfinal against Japan's Akane Yamaguchi. Sindhu leads their rivalry 15-13, promising an electrifying battle. Satwiksairaj and Chirag, the tournament's top seeds and past champions here (2019, 2024), defeated Malaysia's Bryan Jeremy Goonting and Muhammad Haikal 21-12, 21-19 to remain unbeaten. Their previous win came against Indonesia's Muh Putra Ervansyah and Bagas Maulana in three games: 21-19, 21-23, 21-10. Up next: Japan's sixth seeds Takumi Nomura and Yuichi Shimogami. The Indian contingent shone elsewhere too. Kidambi Srikanth toppled Loh Kean Yu 21-14, 21-15, while Lakshya Sen, recovering from a Thomas Cup injury, beat Jia Heng Jason Teh 21-16, 21-17. Tanvi Sharma navigated a tough draw, beating N. Nidaira and then Zhang Wen Yu in a rollercoaster 13-21, 26-24, 21-13. Anmol Kharb fought valiantly but fell to Chen Yufei 21-19, 13-21, 18-21 after 70 grueling minutes. With multiple Indians in contention, the tournament's knockout stages look promising for the Asian Games medalists.