Mumbai, Jan 16: Former champion Kidambi Srikanth bowed out of the BWF India Open after going down to Frenchman Christo Popov in the round of 16 here on Thursday.
Former world No. 1 and 2021 World Championships silver medallist, Srikanth suffered a 14-21, 21-17, 17-21 loss against Popov in a contest that lasted over an hour here at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex.
Srikanth dropped the opening game 14–21, but the Indian shuttler showed strong character to stage a comeback in the second. Playing with control, he clinched the game 21–17 to push the contest into a decider. However, the Frenchman raised his level in the deciding game, proved the steadier of the two in the closing stages, and sealed the match by wrapping up the third game 21–17.
This was Srikanth’s first loss to Popov in the pair’s third career meeting. Last December, Popov became the first French shuttler to win the World Tour Finals 2025 when he toppled world champion Shi Yu Qi in the final.
On Wednesday, Srikanth, who last played a Super 750 event in Singapore in May 2025, found his way back after an indifferent opening game to defeat compatriot Tharun Mannepalli 15-21, 21-6, 21-19 to march into the second round of the tournament.
Meanwhile, India’s campaign in the women’s singles ended after Malvika Bansod suffered a straight-game defeat, 18-21, 15-21, at the hands of Chinese shuttler Han Yue.
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu was eliminated after losing her opening round match 20-22, 21-12, 21-15 to Vietnam’s Nguyen Thuy Linh on Wednesday. In contrast, Malvika Bansod kept India’s hopes alive in the women’s singles with a 21-18, 21-19 victory over Chinese Taipei’s Pai Yu-po, although she ultimately succumbed in the second round.
Earlier on Wednesday, HS Prannoy, a bronze medallist at the World Championships, won his first-round encounter against Lee Cheuk Yiu from Hong Kong, China, with a score of 22-20, 21-18, in a match lasting 41 minutes.
Meanwhile, India’s top men’s doubles duo, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, progressed to the second round after receiving a walkover against Chen Zhi Yi and Presley Smith of the USA.
Elsewhere, all three Indian mixed doubles duos lost their respective first-round matches on Wednesday. Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh lost 21-15, 21-7 against Japan’s Yuichi Shimogami and Sayaka Hobara, while Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde were beaten 21-19, 21-14 by Marvin Seidel and Thuc Phuong Nguyen of Germany.
Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto also fell 21-15, 21-14 against Thailand’s Pakkapon Teeraratsakul and Sapsiree Taerattanachai.