The $500,000 Thailand Open Super 500 is officially underway in Bangkok. For Indian badminton stars PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen, the stakes this week are massive. Both are chasing a much-awaited return to the BWF Top-10 rankings.

Sindhu is sitting at World No. 12, just outside the women’s top 10. Lakshya is even closer at World No. 11 in men’s singles. A semifinal run in Bangkok can push both back into the elite bracket.  

Lakshya, seeded seventh, opens against Singapore’s Jason Teh Jia Heng. Sindhu, seeded sixth, begins against Chinese Taipei’s Tung Ciou-Tong. Both matches come after India’s team-event high in Denmark.  

For Sindhu, the bigger test could come in the quarterfinals. A possible meeting with Akane Yamaguchi would carry major ranking value. A win there could take Sindhu back into the top 10 for the first time since October 2023, provided Chiu Pin-Chian does not go on to win the title. Sindhu has already shown signs this season, with a semifinal in Malaysia and a quarterfinal in Indonesia.  

Lakshya’s path is just as clear. If he reaches the quarterfinal and gets past home favorite Kunlavut Vitidsarn, he is in line for his first top-10 return since March 2025. That would be a strong response after the elbow issue that kept him out of India’s Thomas Cup semifinal against France.  

India’s performance on Day 1 of the Thailand Open 2026

India had a mixed opening day on Tuesday. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty gave the camp its main win, but several others made early exits. The top-seeded men’s doubles pair had to fight hard against Indonesia’s Muh Putra Erwiansyah and Bagas Maulana before closing out a 21-19, 21-23, 21-10 win. 

The rest of the day was tougher. MR Arjun and Hariharan Amsakarunan lost 21-18, 22-20 to Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu-Chieh and Chen Zhi-Ray. In women’s doubles, Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda went down 21-9, 21-11 against Lin Chih-Chun and Yang Chu-Yun.  

The qualifiers also brought little joy for India. Manav Choudhary pushed Lee Zii Jia but lost 21-19, 21-18. Anushka Shahapurkar exited after a 21-5, 21-7 defeat to Thailand’s Yataweemin Ketklieng. Mohit Jaglan and Lakshita Jaglan also bowed out, losing 21-11, 21-18 to Chinese Taipei’s Tsai Fu-Cheng and Sung Yu-Hsuan. 

So, Day 1 left India with one strong doubles result and a few missed chances. Day 2 now carries a different weight. It is about Sindhu and Lakshya starting well, staying calm, and keeping the top-10 race alive.

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Written by

Sahil Prashar

Edited by

Sahil Prashar