French Open: PV Sindhu holds nerve; Ayush Shetty stuns Srikanth

Paris [France], October 21 (ANI): Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu survived a thrilling deciding-game fightback to advance to the women's singles second round at the French Open 2026 badminton tournament in Paris on Wednesday, while Ayush Shetty came from a game down to defeat compatriot Kidambi Srikanth, according to Olympics.com. Sindhu, ranked 10th in the women's ranking, defeated Thailand's Supanida Katethong 21-14, 8-21, 23-21 in a 64-minute opening-round encounter at the Arena Grand Paris. The Indian shuttler appeared to be cruising towards victory in the deciding game after building a commanding 19-8 lead. However, Katethong produced a remarkable fightback, winning 11 consecutive points to draw level at 19-19 and put Sindhu under pressure. Sindhu eventually halted her opponent's momentum and held her nerve in the closing stages to clinch the game 23-21 and secure her place in the round of 16. The victory marked Sindhu's sixth win over Katethong in their 10 career meetings. She will next face Japan's Riko Gunji, who defeated India's Unnati Hooda 21-18, 12-21, 21-17 in another first-round match. Meanwhile, Ayush Shetty registered an impressive comeback victory over former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth, winning 19-21, 21-16, 21-12 to advance to the men's singles second round, according to Olympics.com. After losing a closely contested opening game, Ayush responded strongly in the second to level the match. Srikanth initially took control of the deciding game, establishing a four-point lead, but Ayush fought back to lead 11-9 at the change of ends. The contest remained competitive before Ayush shifted gears in the closing stages. Leading 14-12, he reeled off seven consecutive points to seal the match and complete the comeback. Ayush will next face Japan's sixth seed Kodai Naraoka, who advanced after India's Lakshya Sen withdrew ahead of their scheduled opening-round match. Elsewhere in the women's singles, India's Devika Sihag pushed Indonesia's fifth seed Putri Kusuma Wardani to three games before losing 21-9, 16-21, 22-20. In the women's doubles, Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda suffered a first-round exit after losing 21-6, 21-11 to Japan's Ririna Hiramoto and Chiharu Shida. On Tuesday, Indian men's doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, along with women's doubles pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, exited the tournament in the opening round. Tanvi Sharma and Ashmita Chaliha, meanwhile, progressed to the women's singles second round. (ANI)