Canada Open: Injuries Plague Indian Badminton Players as Seven Out of Nine Exit Early

Ontario, July 2: The Canada Open 2026 proved to be a challenging day for India, with seven out of nine singles players eliminated on Thursday at the Markham Pan Am Centre. Among those knocked out was former world number one Kidambi Srikanth, who had to retire mid-match due to injury.

In a crucial men’s singles match against Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia, Srikanth withdrew while trailing 11-10 in the first game due to his injury. This abrupt end dashed hopes for a competitive showdown, extending Lee’s head-to-head advantage over Srikanth to 6-3.

Following Srikanth’s exit, both Sanith Dayanand and Shankar Subramanian also lost their opening matches, dimming India’s prospects in the men’s singles category.

Japan’s third seed, Yudai Okimoto, dominated Sanith, winning in straight games with scores of 21-7, 21-11. Meanwhile, Shankar Subramanian started strong by winning the first game against South Korea’s Yoo Tae-bin but ultimately lost the three-game match 21-19, 15-21, 15-21.

In women’s singles, India’s Tanya Hemnath and Akarshi Kashyap advanced to the second round with impressive victories. Tanya defeated USA’s Disha Gupta 21-16, 21-18, setting up a round of 16 clash against Japan’s Riko Gunji.

Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Akarshi also moved forward, overcoming France’s Anna Tetranova 21-14, 21-12. She will face fourth-seeded Beiven Zhang from the USA in the quarter-finals.

Unfortunately, the remaining Indian women’s singles players faced early exits. The highest-ranked player, world number 33 Devika Sihag, lost in straight games, while Shriyansi Walisetti failed to win a game before being eliminated.

Rakshita Ramraj put up a tough fight against Canada’s Rachel Chan but lost after winning the first game, with scores of 21-15, 14-21, 15-21.

Anmol Kharab faced a fierce battle against top seed Michelle Li. After saving match points and winning the second game, the Canadian player ultimately triumphed with scores of 21-6, 24-26, 21-13, ending the challenge from the Indian teenager.

Before the singles matches intensified, India’s only men’s doubles pair, Achyutaditya Rao Doddavarapu and Arjun Reddy Pochana, also exited the BWF Super 300 tournament early.