China Open badminton: Vitidsarn and Li Shifeng stunned, Wang Zhiyi wins
Changzhou, July 22
Thailand's second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn suffered a shock first-round defeat, while China's Wang Zhiyi secured a hard-fought comeback victory at the China Open badminton in Changzhou on Wednesday.
The biggest surprise in the men's singles saw former world champion Vitidsarn beaten 21-13, 8-21, 21-19 by Denmark's Rasmus Gemke. China's seventh seed Li Shifeng also lost his opening match, falling 12-21, 21-14, 18-21 to Ireland's Nhat Nguyen.
In the women's singles, home favourite Wang battled back to defeat Scotland's Kirsty Gilmour 15-21, 21-5, 21-18 and advance to the round of 16. China's Han Yue also recovered from a game down to beat Türkiye's Neslihan Yigit 18-21, 21-7, 21-13.
Several Chinese doubles pairs earned comfortable victories. Men's doubles fourth seeds Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang beat India's Hariharan Amsakarunan and Arjun Madathil Ramachandran 21-16, 21-7, while top mixed doubles duo Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping defeated India's Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde 21-9, 21-16.
Two more Chinese mixed doubles pairs reached the last 16. Cheng Xing and Zhang Chi won 21-19, 21-10, while Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin prevailed in three games. China's women's doubles pair Jia Yifan and Zhang Shuxian suffered an unexpected 24-22, 21-17 defeat to Indonesia's Rachel Allessya Rose and Febi Setianingrum.
The 2026 China Open concludes on Sunday in Changzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province.
Meanwhile, India's P.V. Sindhu carried her winning momentum with a hard-fought opening-round victory over fellow Indian Unnati Hooda, while Ayush Shetty produced one of the biggest upsets of the day by knocking out Indonesia's World No. 11 Alwi Farhan to storm into the men's singles pre-quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Just days after ending her title drought with a triumph at the Japan Open, Sindhu overcame a spirited challenge from 18-year-old Hooda, prevailing 21-14, 9-21, 21-10 in a contest that lasted 56 minutes.
The victory also settled unfinished business for the two-time Olympic medallist, who had been eliminated by Hooda at the same tournament last year. This time, the experienced Indian ensured history did not repeat itself, recovering impressively after surrendering the second game.
Sindhu's reward is a high-profile second-round clash against fourth seed and former Olympic champion Chen Yufei of China. The Indian will head into that encounter with confidence after defeating the Chinese star during her title-winning campaign at last week's Japan Open.
Ayush Shetty also enjoyed a memorable outing, overcoming former World Junior champion Alwi Farhan 21-17, 5-21, 21-17 to book his place in the last 16. The result marked a measure of revenge for the young Indian, who had lost to the Indonesian in the semifinals of the 2023 World Junior Championships.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Ayush Shetty’s win over Alwi Farhan is HUGE! Revenge for the World Juniors semi-final loss. The future of Indian men’s singles is bright—Lakshya Sen, Priyanshu Rajawat, and now Ayush. So proud! 🙌
A bittersweet day for India. Our doubles pairs lost to Chinese opponents, but Sindhu and Ayush’s wins keep our hopes alive. The mixed doubles loss to Feng/Huang was tough—Kapoor and Gadde tried but they are a level above. Consistent training is needed for our doubles players.
Kudos to Unnati Hooda! At just 18, she pushed Sindhu to three games and even won the second. Her time will come. And Sindhu’s experience showed—she’s peaking at the right time before the world championships. Let’s hope she beats Chen Yufei again! 🏸🔥
Vitidsarn losing to Gemke is a shocker, but that’s badminton—anyone can win on their day. Li Shifeng also out? The Chinese men’s singles is in trouble. On the other hand, Wang Zhiyi’s comeback shows why she’s a home favourite. Good tournament so far.
Our Indian doubles teams need to up their game. Losing 21-7 in the second game against Chinese pairs is not acceptable. We have talent but the gap in consistency is big. Hopefully, Satwik-Chirag can inspire them. But happy for Sindhu and Ayush! 🏸
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