Saarbrücken (Germany), 29 October (H.S.): India’s star badminton player P. V. Sindhu made an impressive start to her campaign at the Hylo Open 2026, defeating the UAE’s Prakriti Bharath in straight games to advance to the pre-quarterfinals of the women’s singles event. However, fellow Indian shuttler Ashmita Chaliha suffered a first-round defeat.

The second-seeded Sindhu defeated Bharath 21-10, 21-10 in just 28 minutes in their round-of-32 encounter. She will next face France’s Rosy Octavia Pangkesthi.

The two-time Olympic medallist entered the tournament on the back of an impressive performance at the French Open, a BWF Super 750 event. Sindhu reached the final in Paris, where she lost to South Korea’s An Se-young, the world No. 1.

Ashmita Suffers First-Round Defeat

Meanwhile, Chaliha’s campaign in the women’s singles event came to an early end after she lost to Bulgaria’s Kaloyana Nalbantova in a 54-minute contest. Nalbantova recovered from losing the opening game to secure an 18-21, 21-12, 21-8 victory.

Chaliha had also delivered an impressive performance at the French Open in Paris, where she reached the quarter-finals after defeating Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi. However, she was unable to replicate that form at the Hylo Open and bowed out in the opening round.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar