Badminton

The Indian badminton duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who recently withdrew from the Indonesia Open title defense, have slipped two positions to third in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings. The Chinese pair of Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang have ascended to the top spot, while Denmark's Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen have moved up two places to second.Rankireddy and Shetty, who regained the world number one ranking after winning the Thailand Open in May, have struggled for form lately. They suffered a first-round exit at the Singapore Open last month and have also withdrawn from the ongoing Australian Open.In men's singles, HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen have maintained their positions within the top 15, remaining at 10th and 14th respectively. Kidambi Srikanth has dropped four places to 32nd, while Priyanshu Rajawat (34th) and Kiran George (35th, up one place) are the next best Indians.Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu remains steady at 10th in the women's singles rankings. In women's doubles, the Paris Olympics-bound pair of Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa have improved one place to 19th. Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand have also climbed one notch to 24th. The Commonwealth Games bronze-medallist pair had reached the last 16 at the Indonesia Open.

HS Prannoy, India's badminton ace, will spearhead the nation's challenge at the Australian Open, commencing in Sydney on Tuesday. Prannoy, seeded fifth, has endured a string of disappointing results in recent tournaments. He suffered a shock defeat to compatriot Meiraba Luwang Maisnam in the opening round of the Thailand Open last month. Subsequently, he succumbed to world No. 11 Kenta Nishimoto in the Singapore Open Round of 16.Determined to reverse his fortunes, Prannoy will open his Australian Open campaign against Ygor Coelho of Brazil. Sameer Verma will face Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo of Indonesia, while Ravi will encounter a formidable opponent in eighth seed Loh Kean Yew of Singapore. Other Indian men's singles contenders include Mithun Manjunath, Kiran George, and S Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian.In women's singles, eighth seed Aakarshi Kashyap will lead the Indian charge. She will face Ukraine's Polina Buhrova in the opening round. Ashmita Chaliha, Anupama Upadhyaya, and Samiya Imad Farooqui will also represent India in the women's singles.India will be represented in the women's doubles by the Panda sisters, Rutuparna and Swetaparna, and the pair of Harshita Rout and Sruti Swain. In mixed doubles, eighth seed B Sumeeth Reddy and Sikki Reddy will face Malaysian duo Wong Tien Ci and Lim Chiew Sien. Tarun Kona and Sri Krishna Priya Kudaravalli will also compete in mixed doubles.

As the sun rises on another day, you can feel the excitement building. Today, you're heading to the badminton court, ready to showcase your skills and have a thrilling match with your friends. But before you step onto the court,...

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