Kidambi Srikanth exits Korea Masters 2026; Tanvi Sharma advances to second round

Kidambi Srikanth (File Pic)

Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth endured an early exit at the Korea Masters 2026 badminton tournament, while rising talent Tanvi Sharma moved into the second round.

Entering the BWF Super 300 event as the third seed, Srikanth fell 20-22, 21-14, 12-21 against Israel's Daniil Dubovenko in a gruelling 50-minute men's singles encounter. The loss represents Srikanth's second consecutive first-round defeat since finishing as the runner-up at the US Open in June.

India's presence in the men's singles draw was completely wiped out in the opening phase, with Rounak Chouhan, Kiran George, Mithun Manjunath, Saneeth Dayanand, and Tharun Mannepalli all bowing out alongside Srikanth.

Strong showing for Indian women across singles and doubles

In contrast to the men's results, the women's singles category proved far more successful, with seven of India's nine entries advancing to the second round.

Riding the momentum of her recent title victory at the Taipei Open, Tanvi Sharma delivered a convincing performance to defeat China's Yuan An Qi 21-16, 21-15. Fifth seed Isharani Baruah secured a hard-fought 21-18, 15-21, 21-7 victory over South Korea's Lee Yo Yul, while eighth-seeded Anmol Kharb mounted a comeback to overcome Hong Kong China's Lo Sin Yan Happy 16-21, 21-17, 21-12.

Ashmita Chaliha earned a straight-games 22-20, 21-18 win over Japan's Ririna Hiramoto, and Rakshitha Sree Santhosh Ramraj recovered from dropping the opening game to defeat South Korea's A Yeon Yoo 22-24, 21-12, 21-13. Mansi Singh also progressed by beating South Korea's Kim Joo Eun 21-14, 19-21, 21-9, while Shriyanshi Valishetty claimed a smooth 21-15, 21-14 victory against Chinese Taipei's Pai Yu Po. Tanya Hemanth and Aakarshi Kashyap were the only two Indian women's singles players eliminated in the opening round.

In women's doubles, Sonali Singh and Ritika Thaker bounced back from a first-game setback to defeat South Korea's Bang Ji Sun and Hyun Ji Jang 13-21, 21-15, 21-12.

In mixed doubles, the sixth-seeded pair of Ishaan Bhatnagar and Shruti Mishra rallied to win an all-Indian matchup against Sathwik Reddy Kanapuram and Radhika Sharma 20-22, 21-10, 21-15. However, Dhruv Rawat and Maneesha K were eliminated in mixed doubles, as were Bhargav Ram Arigela and Viswa Tej Gobburu in men's doubles.