Badminton: India's campaign at Canada Open ends after Aakarshi, Tanya crash out
Toronto, July 3
India's campaign at the Canada Open 2026 came to an end after Aakarshi Kashyap and Tanya Hemanth suffered second-round defeats in the women's singles event at the BWF Super 300 tournament in Markham, Ontario, according to Olympics.com.
World No. 71 Aakarshi Kashyap put up a spirited fight against fourth seed and world No. 33 Beiwen Zhang of the United States before going down 20-22, 21-17, 21-17 in a contest that lasted one hour and seven minutes.
Aakarshi made a bright start to the match, opening up a 10-6 lead in the first game. However, Zhang fought back to level the scores before edging a closely contested opening game. The Indian responded strongly throughout the match but was unable to capitalise on key moments.
The second game saw Zhang surge into a commanding lead before Aakarshi mounted a late comeback. Despite narrowing the deficit, she could not prevent the American from forcing a decider. The final game remained evenly poised until 17-17, after which Zhang won four consecutive points to seal the match.
The defeat marked Aakarshi's third loss to Zhang in as many meetings, according to Olympics.com.
In the other women's singles second-round match, world No. 56 Tanya Hemanth was outclassed by Japan's third seed and world No. 21 Riko Gunji, who registered a convincing 21-11, 21-11 victory in just 31 minutes. The result also marked Tanya's second successive defeat to Gunji after the Japanese shuttler had eliminated her in the opening round of last week's US Open.
Aakarshi and Tanya were India's last remaining representatives in the tournament after the rest of the contingent exited earlier in the competition, according to Olympics.com.
Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth was forced to retire hurt during his match against Malaysia's Olympic medallist Lee Zii Jia, while Devika Sihag, Rakshitha Ramraj, Anmol Kharb, Shriyanshi Valishetty, Saneeth Dayanand and Sankar Subramanian were all eliminated in the early rounds.
India's challenge in the doubles competition also ended on the opening day after Achutaditya Rao Doddavarapu and Arjun Reddy Pochana were knocked out.
The Indian shuttlers will next be seen in action at the Japan Open 750, scheduled to begin on July 14.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Sad to see Srikanth retire hurt. The man who once beat Lee Zii Jia in his prime now can't finish a match against him. Age catches up with everyone, but he gave us so many great memories. Our singles depth is clearly shallow after Sindhu and Srikanth. Need more investment in grassroots badminton. 😐
Honestly, our women's singles players need to step up. Tanya lost 11-21, 11-21 in 31 minutes to Gunji - that's not even competitive. Aakarshi at least made it close. We have too many players who dominate in domestic circuit but can't handle international pace. Japan and China are miles ahead. Time to revamp training methods! 💪
I'll never understand why BWF schedules Super 300 tournaments in July when all our top players are resting or training for bigger events. That said, Aakarshi and Tanya gaining experience is valuable. The Japan Open is coming up - hoping for better results there. Jay Hind! 🇮🇳
Aakarshi's fightback in the second game was admirable but she needs to work on finishing sets. Leading 10-6 and then losing 20-22 in the first game shows lack of killer instinct. These are moments that separate top-20 players from the rest. Still, she's young and has time to improve. Our badminton ecosystem needs better mental conditioning coaches.
Third straight loss to Zhang for Aakarshi. At some point, you have to ask what adjustments are being made. Same patterns,
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