BWF Rankings: PV Sindhu only Indian in top 10, Lakshya Sen rises two spots


BWF Rankings: PV Sindhu only Indian in top 10, Lakshya Sen rises two spots

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu is ranked 7th on the BWF women's singles rankings.

Only one Indian badminton player has made it to the top 10 of the latest Badminton World Federation’s (BWF) rankings released on Tuesday.

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Star shuttler PV Sindhu, who lost to Sayaka Takahashi in the French Open 2021 semifinal, has retained her seventh spot in women’s singles, while the only other Indian woman to feature in the top 50 is out of shape Saina Nehwal, who went one place down to rank 22nd. Former world No. 1 Saina retired midway through her Round of 32 matches at Denmark Open 2021 and French Open, respectively.

Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu Ying, Tokyo Olympics silver medallist, remains at top of the women’s singles chart.

Lakshya Sen only bright spot

Lakshya Sen has burst into the top 20 of the BWF World Rankings.

In men’s singles, Hylo Open 2021 semifinalist Kidambi Srikanth, ranked 15th, is the highest-ranked Indian shuttler on the chart. He is followed by B Sai Praneeth, who has now been going through a poor patch. Since being ousted in the first round of the Tokyo Olympics by world No. 48 Misha Zilberman, Sai Praneeth won only two matches out of his five outings.

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However, Dutch Open 2021 runner-up and Hylo Open semifinalist Lakshya Sen has been rewarded for showing consistency on the BWF World Tour events. The 20-year-old emerging men’s singles specialist rose two places to finish at 19th position in the latest BWF men’s singles rankings. Sameer Verma (22nd), HS Prannoy (33rd), Parupalli Kashyap (34th) and Sourabh Verma (36th) are other Indians to feature in the top 50 of the BWF rankings.

Japan’s Kento Momota, who made a comeback to the BWF World Tour events making the final of the Denmark Open, has topped the men’s singles rankings. Momota is followed by Denmark Open champion Viktor Axelsen and Anders Antonsen of Denmark.

Meanwhile, in men’s doubles, the Indian pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who lost in the Round of 16 at the Denmark Open, remains at 12th position. Manu Attari and B Sumeeth Reddy have been ranked 40th, while the pair of MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila is occupying the 42nd position in the BWF rankings.

Ashwini, Sikki only pair in the top 50

Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy

In women’s doubles, the pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy rose a place higher to finish at 27th spot, thanks to their recent performance at the Hylo Open where they lost in the Round of 16. They are the only Indian pair to make it to the top 50 of women’s doubles rankings.

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Satwik and Ashwini’s pair is India’s highest-ranked pair in mixed doubles.

Loh Kean Yew biggest gainer

Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew has recently won the Hylo Open 2021.

Among the international shuttlers, Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew and Yeo Jia Min have made big progress on the BWF World Rankings.

Loh, who defeated Lakshya Sen in the Dutch Open final, was the biggest gainer among the world’s top 50 men’s singles players. The Hylo Open champion rose eight places to finish at 31st position.

Yeo Jia Min, who lost in the Hylo Open final, rose six spots to No.20 to attain her highest position so far in the latest BWF rankings.

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