Anna 
Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth secured a spot in the main draw of the 2025 Orleans Masters badminton tournament with two impressive victories in the qualification rounds at the Palais des Sports on Tuesday.
Srikanth, currently ranked 45th in the men’s singles, started his campaign with a commanding 21-8, 21-14 win over Denmark’s Mads Christophersen, who is ranked No. 52. He faced a tougher challenge in his second match against world No. 63 Arnaud Merkle from France. After taking the first game 21-14 and losing the second 21-14, Srikanth regained his focus to win 21-12 in the final game, securing a 21-14, 14-21, 21-12 victory in 55 minutes to move into the round of 32.
Also progressing in the men’s singles qualifiers was Sankar Subramanian. The world No. 67 Indian shuttler battled through two tough matches. In his first encounter, he narrowly defeated Denmark’s Magnus Johannesen, ranked No. 55, 21-19, 19-21, 21-19 in one hour and six minutes. Subramanian then overcame compatriot and world No. 68 Rithvik Sanjeevi Satish Kumar, winning 21-18, 21-12 to advance.
However, Tharun Mannepalli’s tournament ended after he lost to Chinese Taipei’s Liao Jhuo-fu, ranked 85th. Mannepalli lost in three sets: 17-21, 21-9, 21-16.
In the women’s singles qualifiers, India’s Tanya Hemanth, ranked No. 67, claimed a victory in her first match, defeating Chen Su-yu of Chinese Taipei 13-21, 21-14, 21-10. Unfortunately, she was eliminated after losing 21-16, 22-20 to Hong Kong’s Lo Sin Yan.
Third-seeded Aakarshi Kashyap also struggled, falling to Canada’s Wen Yu Zhang 18-21, 21-15, 21-19 in a match that lasted an hour.
Isharani Baruah kept her hopes alive with two hard-fought wins. The world No. 75 shuttler first overcame France’s Qi Xuefei 12-21, 21-10, 21-12, and then battled past Denmark’s world No. 59 Amalie Schulz 25-27, 21-16, 23-21.
Unnati Hooda, ranked No. 55, impressed with two victories on the opening day. Hooda defeated Chinese Taipei’s Tung Ciou-tong 21-12, 21-16, and then eased past Malaysia’s Kisona Selvaduray 21-13, 21-15 to secure her place in the next round.
Related topics: