Indian shuttlers suffered a disappointing start to the China Open 2026 badminton tournament after both HS Prannoy and Devika Sihag bowed out in the first round in Changzhou, the People’s Republic of China on Tuesday.
Competing at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium, HS Prannoy, 36th in the men’s singles badminton rankings, lost 21-10, 21-14 against world No. 27 Leong Jun Hao of Malaysia.
HS Prannoy’s first-round exit also extended his disappointing run in 2026, with the Asian Games medallist yet to progress beyond the second round in any of the eight tournaments that he has contested this season.
Struggling to find his rhythm from the outset, the 34-year-old HS Prannoy trailed 11-2 at the interval before conceding the first game without much resistance.
The Indian badminton player mounted a stronger challenge in the second game, trailing 11-8 at the interval, but could add only six more points as the Malaysian sealed the contest in 32 minutes.
Leong Jun Hao’s win over HS Prannoy was his second in four matches against the Indian.
Devika Sihag, the only other Indian in action on the opening day of the BWF Super 1000 tournament, also lost her women’s singles first-round encounter 21-19, 19-21, 21-13 against Olympian Busanan Ongbamrungphan of Thailand.
After putting up a valiant fight in the first game, the 21-year-old Devika Sihag narrowly lost the opener before edging the second to take the contest into a decider.
However, Busanan Ongbamrungphan shifted gears in the third game, racing to an 11-2 en route to closing out the match in an hour and one minute.
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and Paris 2024 semi-finalists Lakshya Sen will start their China Open campaigns on Wednesday.
PV Sindhu, the 2016 China Open champion, heads into the tournament after winning the Japan Open last week and will face compatriot Unnati Hooda in the first round.
read more: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/china-open-2026-badminton-india-day-1-report
