Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Priyanshu Rajawat were significant movers in the latest world rankings released by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Tuesday, August 8.
Sindhu soared a couple of spots to be placed at 15th following her quarterfinal finish at last week's Australian Open Badminton tournament.
Rising men's singles star Rajawat was rewarded with a rise of three places to a career-high 28th after his dazzling run to the semifinals of the Sydney tournament. This was the first time he made the last four of a Super 500 event. The 21-year-old's campaign ultimately came to an end at the hands of eventual runner-up HS Prannoy.
The Keralite, however, stays static at ninth and continues to be India's highest ranked singles shuttler. Prannoy suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the Australian Open final against China's Weng Hong Yang after having held a match point.
Lakshya Sen, who had to retire from his first-round match against Kiran George due to a bout of flu, stays put at 11th. Kidambi Srikanth, who lost to Rajawat in the quarters, dropped a place to 20th.
Mithun Manjunath and Kiran George surged to 43rd and 49th spots, respectively, in this week's world rankings. With their rise, India now has six men's singles shuttlers in the top 50.
In women's singles, Saina Nehwal maintains her 38th ranking. Aakarshi Kashyap, Malvika Bansod and Ashmita Chaliha are now placed at 39th, 44th and 47th, respectively.
In the men's doubles category, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty continue to stay second while MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila remain 27th.
In women's doubles, Commonwealth Games bronze medalists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand slipped a couple of rungs to 19th.
In the mixed doubles section, Rohan Kapoor and Sikki Reddy continue to be India's highest-ranked pair even after sliding a spot to 33rd.
India's top shuttlers to return at BWF World Championships
The top Indian shuttlers will now enjoy a break of two weeks following the Asia-Pacific swing that concluded with the Australian Open last Sunday.
The likes of PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, and the men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will next be seen in action at the upcoming BWF World Championships.
The mega world event will be held this time in Copenhagen from August 21 to 27.