Tue Sep 17 06:18:13 UTC 2024: ## Indian Shuttler Priyanshu Rajawat Falls in China Open Opener
**Changzhou, China** – Rising Indian badminton star Priyanshu Rajawat’s China Open campaign came to an abrupt end on Tuesday. The 22-year-old, who won the Orleans Masters last year and is a member of the Thomas Cup champion Indian team, suffered a straight-game defeat to Canada’s Brian Yang in the men’s round-of-32.
Rajawat, ranked 36th in the world, lost 13-21, 16-21 in a 36-minute match against the 40th-ranked Yang. This leaves Kiran George as the sole Indian representative in the men’s singles event, with the 40th-ranked player set to face Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto in the next round.
Meanwhile, other Indian hopes lie in the doubles categories. Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly, bronze medalists at the Commonwealth Games, and Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda will compete in the women’s doubles, while N Sikki Reddy and B Sumeeth Reddy will lead the challenge in the mixed doubles competition.
Aakarshi Kashyap, Malvika Bansod, and Samiya Imad Farooqui will fly the Indian flag in the women’s singles event.
Notably, Indian shuttlers who competed at the Paris Olympics, including PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, and the men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, are skipping this year’s final BWF Super 1000 event.
First Piper 