BWF World Championships 2023: Indian results at the end of day 1

Modified Aug 22, 2023 00:09 IST

Indians in action at Copenhagen for the BWF World Championships

The BWF World Championships, one of the most important events on the badminton calendar, kicked off on August 21. Players from all over the world got ready to battle it out for a spot in the Round of 16 at Copenhagen, Denmark.

Leading the charge for the Indian contingent was mixed doubles pair Rohan Kapoor and Sikki Reddy. The duo were up against Scottish players Adam Hall and Julie MacPherson.

Surprising everyone, the Scotts got off to a strong start with a lead of 11-6 at the interval. They dominated the second half to win the first set 21-14. Rohan and Sikki held their nerves in the second game, and won the set 22-20 to force the match into a decider.

Unfortunately, it just wasn't meant to be for the Indian duo as they lost the third set 18-21, in a match that lasted nearly an hour.

Next on court from India at the BWF World Championships was men's singles star HS Prannoy. Prannoy, who is currently ranked ninth in the world, was battling World No. 57 Kalle Koljonen.

Although Prannoy had beaten Koljonen twice before, his match got off to a rocky start. His Finnish opponent raced to an early lead, with Prannoy having to play catch-up.

However, the Indian held his cool to take home the first game 24-22. Prannoy showed no signs of slowing down as he decimated his opponent 21-10 in the second game.

Next in line after Prannoy was young gun Lakshya Sen. This was Sen's first match back on court after his opening round exit at the Australian Open, where he retired 0-5 into a match against junior Kiran George.

Nevertheless, Lakshya showed no signs of injury or discomfort as he faced off against Mauritian Georges Julien Paul. The 11th seed defeated his opponent in a quick 25 minutes, with a score of 21-12, 21-7.

The last Indian on court at the BWF World Championships was Srikanth Kidambi, who was up against Japan's Kento Nishimoto.

While Kidambi had beaten the 14th seed in their last encounter at the Australian Open, Kento came ready to fight. He raced to a strong 21-14 victory in the first set.

Though Kidambi did his best to make a comeback in the second game, Nishimoto proved to be too powerful, winning the second set 21-14. This marks Srikanth's first-ever opening round exit at the World Championships.