BWF World Championships, day 3 as it happened: Sindhu, Lakshya, Satwik-Chirag and Srikanth win

Wednesday schedule: Second round action will be continuing tomorrow, with the bottom half matches across all categories. Here are India’s matches, all early in the day in the 1.30 pm IST Session (first and/or second matches). Big chance for Prannoy to progress further against an opponent he has done well while Arjun and Dhruv can back up their good performances with a good result against Russian veterans Ivanov and Sozonov.

Women’s singles: What a fantastic match, Blichfeldt comes back from a match point down.

Men’s singles: Fourth seed Chou Tien Chen is out! Lu Guang Zu continues his sensational form in Huelva, follows up a win over Vitidsarn with another big prize. And he will take on the final seed left in the top half of the draw.... Srikanth Kidambi!

Men’s singles: WHAT. A. POINT. Sensational rally at 15-18 and Lu wins the point to leave CTC on the floor, 19-15...

Men’s singles: Lu has all the momentum now at 11-8, the change of ends comes at a timely juncture for Chou as he was struggling physically.

Men’s singles: 8-8 in the third game between Chou and Lu. Srikanth must be watching this somewhere I presume.

Men’s singles: Chou is a warrior, if anything. The man loves a good third-game turnaround. We are off to a fantastic start in the decider at 5-5.

Men’s singles: The first game scoreline didn’t do justice to how well Lu Guang Zu had played and sure enough, the Chinese shuttler takes the 2nd game against Chou Tien Chen 21-15. Are we on for another upset in Huelva? 48 mins already done in this match!

Men’s doubles: Satwik-Chirag’s next round opponents are confirmed (despite assumptions that they had already won!) Ong Yew Sing and Teo Ee Yi of Malaysia, the world No 12 pair (9th seeds) will take on the eighth seeded Indians. The H2H is 2-2 between these two fantastic pairs and 1-1 in 2021, with the recent meeting in Bali going the Malaysians’ way.

Men’s singles: You don’t usually see a 23-min opening game with a 21-14 scoreline. Tells you how tight that was despite Chou Tien Chen taking the lead against Lu Guang Zu.

Tai Tzu Ying tells BWF: “This is my first match since the Olympics. It’s true that I had a lot of time for rest. Mentally I feel I’m more relaxed. I saw all the other players playing in Bali and they were quite busy. I will try my best and try to go as far as possible.”

8.00 pm: Time for Chou Tien Chen vs Lu Guang Zu in the main court. A potentially cracking match this one, and the winner takes on Srikanth.

Srikanth’s reaction to today’s win (the interviewer seemed to think this was Srikanth’s first match of the event, so the questions were a bit off):

Just really happy to win that match. Li played exceptionally well, credit to him. Was very consistent throughout. I wasn’t really up there in the first set, just very happy to find my rhythm and become consistent. 

[On the match lasting for 69 minutes] I don’t really look at duration of a match very often (smiles). If I win, I focus on the next match. If I lose, I try and get better, work on what wrong, and be back again on court. 

[About consistency] After 13-14 in the third set, it is really important to be consistent. I got to that lead after trailing for a bit (12-14 or something) and those 3-4 points made a huge difference. That was really important, just happy it worked for me today. 

[About Li] He played really well, throughout the match. Definitely has a bright future.

[Conditions] Frankly, I came here one day before the tournament started, didn’t get too much to get acclimatized. Before my first match, I didn’t really get to even play in the main hall. Before I knew what was happening, I was playing my first match. That was tough (smiles). There are few things you can’t control. Just happy to win. I am just focussed on doing well, only thing I am thinking about it. Frankly, haven’t thought about the next round. Just wanted to clear this round first. 

Lakshya Sen’s reaction to today’s win:

It’s another great experience for me. Playing a long match, one hour and 20 minutes. Feel good, have a day off tomorrow. Must try to recover and be ready for the next match. I think I lost a bit of focus at the end of the second game and that cost me. But I was ready to go all out in the third. It worked well in the end. I was on the good side from the beginning, so a 2-3 points advantage helped me finish the game. 

Patience was very important. The shuttles are slow, so cannot put them down easily, so being patient is very important. Need to build up rallies and go for smashes.

[Facing Kevin Cordon] Yeah, just another match for me. HE had a good run at the Olympics, looking forward to playing him. Want to recover and go all out in the next match. 

— BWF

Chirag’s reaction to today’s win:

Initially, in both the sets were at 11-10 either way. It was neck-and-neck all through the game. Especially in the closing stages, in the second, we kind of got our rhythm and took the game away from them. The first game was really close and it could have gone either way, I am glad we could keep our nerves and get that win. 

I think the draw, we just can’t dwell on it. All we can do is give our best. We have always done well if we just take one match at a time. Trying to do the same thing now. Our main aim is to play our best. 

— BWF

Satwik’s reaction to today’s win:

Feels very good. Last two weeks have been a bit dicey on the court, especially for me the body has not been comfortable. Now I feel pretty comfortable, I went for a break at home for four days. I got to refresh mentally, had some Indian food... I came back like, right, this is the World Championships. Refreshed, comfortable. 

Court conditions are amazing, after playing in Bali were the courts were very slow. Here I can defend, attack, play a good all-round game. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to practice in the main hall before today and I just walked to the arena for the first time before the match. Before the match, I came in and like, oh this is a very nice place to have a good tournament. While knocking also, I was happy to see the shuttle not go long (smiles).

No pressure (for next match). Not at all! (smiles) We have been playing so many tournaments, and taking pressure means we won’t able to perform well, and get injured, frustrations or something.  

— BWF

Women’ singles: And it is confirmed, Pornpawee Chochuwong vs PV Sindhu for a cracking third round match-up. Both players have made it past their first hurdles in straight games. Sindhu leads H2H 4-3 but has lost the last two matches against the in-form Thai: at All England in the semifinal and recently in Bali in the group stage of the World Tour Finals (that was a dead rubber effectively).

Women’ singles: She’s back and in style. Tai Tzu Ying makes it look ridiculously easy against an opponent who did not play all that badly. Waving her wand as she does. So good to see her in action again.

Women’ singles: Chochuwong has taken the first game 21-13.

ICYMI: Viktor Axelsen lost in the opening round on Monday and this is what he had to say after the match.

“I think he played as a winner today, he definitely deserved the victory, so I wish him all the best for the rest of the tournament. For me personally the first game was okay, but then it was something I’d rather forget, to be honest. I’ll take a few days and then watch it again to see if I can learn anything. I feel a bit burned out right now. Pretty much everything fell apart in the second and third. Loh stepped up and I stepped down.”

— BWF

Women’ singles: After some sparring early on, TTY waves her magic wand and boom, game done 21-10.

Women’ singles: Meanwhile, Pornpawee Chochuwong is also on court at the moment. Takes on Belgium’s Lianne Tan. Sindhu awaits the winner of this one.

Women’ singles: No problem so far for TTY, who is playing within herself and still leading 11-5. Not her biggest test today, in all fairness, but she is moving really well on court. Errors here and there but that comes with her game.

6.00 pm: And she’s here. It’s Tai Tzu Ying time! The world No 1 is back in action after her post-Olympics break. Live on Court 1. Will there be any rustiness? Or will it be business as usual?

BWF World C’ships: Sindhu starts with breezy win; Lakshya, Srikanth, Satwik-Chirag clinch thrillers

Quick recap of a great couple of hours for India in Huelva: 

Lakshya Sen defeats 15th seed Kenta Nishimoto in a three-game thriller. 

Satwik-Chirag come through in two games but thrilling nevertheless. 

Srikanth defeats highly-rated Chinese youngster Li Shi Feng in a three-game thriller.

PV Sindhu progresses to the third round with a breezy win.  

Srikanth vs Li: 15-21, 21-18, 21-17: A high-level match and once again, the former world no 1 showed that he is slowly but surely getting back to his best. Likely to face Chou Tien Chen next (Who won’t have it easy against Lu Guang Zu either).

Men’s singles round of 32, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 15-21, 21-18, 21-17 Li Shi Feng: WHAT A POINT! WHAT A WIN! Srikanth was on his knee and seemed like the match point was gone for now, but he stays in the rally and produces a superb defensive shot, then forces the error. HUGE ROAR AT THE END! Been a while since he celebrated like that, we’d say. That was exhilarating to watch.

Men’s singles round of 32, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 15-21, 21-18, 20-17 Li Shi Feng: Pacy point from Sri, but Li hangs on and hangs on and forces the error. A desperate challenge from Li next up and it is match points for Srikanth.

Men’s singles round of 32, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 15-21, 21-18, 19-16 Li Shi Feng: OHHHH! The shuttle stayed on the top of the net from Sri, deciding which way to fall! Falls in favour of Li. Srikanth kills off the next point and stays ahead.

Men’s singles round of 32, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 15-21, 21-18, 17-15 Li Shi Feng: Li has gone a bit quiet at the moment... but gets the serve back on Sri’s error again. Li not moving too well at the moment, especially for the lunges. Srikanth must not make errors here.

Men’s singles round of 32, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 15-21, 21-18, 15-13 Li Shi Feng: Break in play after those two superb rallies. Maybe Li is feeling this. Sri keeps the pressure on, now attacking again. Calculated charge this.

Men’s singles round of 32, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 15-21, 21-18, 13-13 Li Shi Feng: Applause from Park, that was really good from Sri. Staying patient by pulling Li front and then back and then killing with a nice punch clear. Superb point from both players. Another dominant rally for the Indian next up and we are level again.

Men’s singles round of 32, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 15-21, 21-18, 10-13 Li Shi Feng: Oh dear, errors at the wrong time for Srikanth. This can slip away quickly. Roar from Li, again.

Men’s singles round of 32, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 15-21, 21-18, 9-11 Li Shi Feng: Oh, Sri! Sets up a point brilliantly at the net and then misses the sideline with the smash while going for the kill. Frustration. Change of ends.

Men’s singles round of 32, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 15-21, 21-18, 9-10 Li Shi Feng: Sri trying to play the delicate touch game at net, and the smashes have been kept aside for the time being. And Sri is starting to close the gap again. The battle for the lead at the change of ends is going down to the wire.

Men’s singles round of 32, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 15-21, 21-18, 6-10 Li Shi Feng: Another fantastic front-court exchange from both players and then Sri misses the punch-clear. Error next point and Sri in trouble.

Men’s singles round of 32, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 15-21, 21-18, 6-7 Li Shi Feng: Geez, Srikanth starting to miss the lines and getting his lengths wrong. Li is attacking big time at the moment, unsurprisngly. He’s pumped up too, after being calm for the first two games. All part of the gameplan, Srikanth closes down from 4-7 to 6-7 with two good points.

Men’s singles round of 32, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 15-21, 21-18, 4-4 Li Shi Feng: Terrific defensive work from Srikanth but he can’t quite win the point. Longer rallies are still good for Srikanth you’d think. Superb from Li though. He now puts together a couple of good points and takes the lead. Great grit from the Chinese youngster. Srikanth makes him run around next point and get the serve back

Men’s singles round of 32, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 15-21, 21-18, 2-1 Li Shi Feng: A delayed start to the decider. Srikanth must keep his focus and build good points, can’t afford to allow Li to get an adrenaline rush. Good purposeful start to the decider from both players, they need the early lead.

Srikanth found joy down Li Shi Feng’s forehand side but must be a little careful not to overdo it. Terrific turnaround... and now Li has called for medical help. Serious blister on his feet for the Chinese shuttler. Looks painful.

Men’s singles round of 32, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 15-21, 21-18 Li Shi Feng: DECIDER! Li makes a forehand error and there is a mini fist pump there by the Indian. Time for some Park gyan and away we go for the third game.

Men’s singles round of 32, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 15-21, 20-18 Li Shi Feng: Good net play from Sri sets up three game points. Li saves one with good net play himself.

Men’s singles round of 32, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 15-21, 19-16 Li Shi Feng: Yikes, Srikanth misses a flat forehand by some distance and finds the middle of the net. Super spinning shot at the net to go 19-15 up and then a nice challenge from Li to get the serve back. Could have been game points there! What a moment to find a good review.

Men’s singles round of 32, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 15-21, 18-14 Li Shi Feng: Oh Li keeps fighting back, frustration for Srikanth. And then a lucky net chord gives him the serve back.

Men’s singles round of 32, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 15-21, 17-12 Li Shi Feng: Quite the nice mini turnaround for Srikanth. His smashes are working like a dream, targeting Li’s forehand repeatedly. 10 straight points from 6-9 to 16-9. Some errors from the Indian now and a mini run for Li too. Srikanth takes the serve back with a nice crosscourt.

Men’s singles round of 32, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 15-21, 15-9 Li Shi Feng: The commentators reckon Srikanth is targeting Li’s forehand with his downward shots and it is paying dividends. He keeps getting the points there for now. Handy lead. NINE STRAIGHT POINTS.

Men’s singles round of 32, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 15-21, 11-9 Li Shi Feng: Five points in a row for Srikanth and he takes a 2-point lead into the interval. A brilliant rally at 10-9 and the Indian kills with a good smash at the net after setting up the point well.

Men’s singles round of 32, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 15-21, 9-9 Li Shi Feng: Short rallies, mistakes from both players. And Sri is starting to try and paint the lines. High risk, needed too at the moment. Errors from Li and we are back level.

Men’s singles round of 32, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 15-21, 5-7 Li Shi Feng: Both players staying patient in the rallies now but Srikanth has made a couple of errors that he would dearly want to take back.

(Score corrected) Men’s singles round of 32, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 15-21, 4-4 Li Shi Feng: For Sri, it has been tough as expected. A coaching change behind him at the start of the game, with Coach Park taking the hot seat, can it help him turn things around? 4-4 in the 2nd game.

Men’s singles round of 32, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 15-21 Li Shi Feng: The Chinese star takes the opening game... and just as the second game starts, coach Park is in the bench for the Indian now. Will that help him turn things around?

Men’s singles, round of 32, [15] Kenta Nishimoto 20-22, 21-15, 18-21 Lakshya Sen: LAKSHYA SEN WINS! Well done. Smart lift to the back court and he celebrates with a racket flip and a hug from his father. A terrific match that lived up to the billing. Kenta Nishimoto defeated. Whisper it, but this is a huge win for Lakshya as far as progressing deep in this tournament is concerned.

Men’s singles, round of 32, [15] Kenta Nishimoto 20-22, 21-15, 18-20 Lakshya Sen: Challenge from KN and it is not successful. Match points for LS! And Kenta saves one with a superb crosscourt smash.

Men’s singles, round of 32, [15] Kenta Nishimoto 20-22, 21-15, 17-19 Lakshya Sen: A patient rally, both players know what is at stake and then with the kill shot in his range, Sen nets a jump smash! Will that be costly?

Men’s singles, round of 32, [15] Kenta Nishimoto 20-22, 21-15, 16-19 Lakshya Sen: Two points away! Good judgement from Sen at the backline and he can see the finish line in sights now.

Men’s singles, round of 32, [15] Kenta Nishimoto 20-22, 21-15, 16-18 Lakshya Sen: It is ebbing and flowing in this decider and with father DK Sen cheering him on as the coach, Sen opens up another three-point lead. KN, as he has been doing, closes it down again with a lovely DTH.

Men’s singles round of 32, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 10-11 Li Shi Feng: all back and forth in this match so far and it is Srikanth who trails by a point at the break.

Women’s singles round of 32, [6] PV Sindhu 21-7, 21-9 Martina Repiska Sindhu progresses with minimum workout, it would seem. 24 minutes and done. A huge test awaits her next should Pornpawee Chochuwong win her R32 match.

Men’s singles, round of 32, [15] Kenta Nishimoto 20-22, 21-15, 10-13 Lakshya Sen: Handy lead for Lakshya, he was a bit stranded near the net after a super rally, but KN sends the lift long. Sen had given up but the shuttle sails over.

Men’s singles, round of 32, [15] Kenta Nishimoto 20-22, 21-15, 10-11 Lakshya Sen: This is how the third game is shaping up. Sen staying just ahead.

Men’s singles, round of 32, [15] Kenta Nishimoto 20-22, 21-15, 10-11 Lakshya Sen: Can Lakshya take a lead into the final change of ends? He leads 10-8 but then a huge miss at 10-9. Another tight game, another 11-10 scoreline, this time in favour of the Indian! Change of ends, can Sen power ahead?

Women’s singles round of 32, [6] PV Sindhu 21-7, 15-3 Martina Repiska: One way traffic in this one.

Men’s singles round of 32, [12] Srikanth Kidambi vs Li Shi Feng: Don’t be fooled by the rankings for this one (14 vs 63), this is going to be a tight one I think. Chinese (fresh without their workload on tour) have pulled off some upsets already and Li, hugely rated, was in great form at Thomas Cup defeating Vitidsarn and Tsuneyama.

Women’s singles round of 32, [6] PV Sindhu 21-7 Martina Repiska : A comfortable opening round for the Indian superstar.

Men’s doubles round of 32, [8] India 27-25, 21-17 Chinese Taipei: What a doubles match that was. Great entertainment and the Indians come out on top. Didn’t need too many game points this time around. Second match point converted. Tough next round awaits, more on that later.

Women’s singles round of 32, PV Sindhu vs Martina Repiska 11-4: Sindhu in a comfortable space already. A seven-point cushion.

Men’s doubles round of 32, [8] India 27-25, 20-16 Chinese Taipei: Meanwhile, match points for the Indians on court 2.

Men’s singles, round of 32, [15] Kenta Nishimoto 20-22, 21-15 Lakshya Sen: As we said he was starting to look weary, Sen has made a flurry of errors . Perhaps conserving for the decider? One can only hope so from an Indian POV.

Men’s doubles round of 32, [8] India 27-25, 18-15 Chinese Taipei: Rare kill shot by Chirag from the back court and soon after an unsuccessful challenge by the TPE pair, Indians starting to sneak ahead. Decisive part of the game coming up. Chirag with another super point to take a lead.

Men’s singles, round of 32, [15] Kenta Nishimoto 20-22, 16-14 Lakshya Sen: KN has largely stayed ahead in the 2nd game but Sen goes up 14-12 only for the Japanese to level things again. An error from Sen and he trails again. Starting to look a little tired at the moment. Laboured movement, slow to get up off the court.

Men’s doubles round of 32, [8] India 27-25, 13-12 Chinese Taipei: All level again after the break. Some terrific exchanges in this phase again. Satwik killing the points well, Chirag offering the solidity. A fantastic rally goes the Indians way and they sneak ahead.

Men’s doubles round of 32, [8] India 27-25, 10-10 Chinese Taipei: Another service error for height from Chirag in the second game! Needs to cut that out. Another string break in that game, from the Taipei pair. Once again very little to choose. They close the gap down to make it all square before the break. The Indians trail now by a point.

Men’s singles, round of 32, [15] Kenta Nishimoto 20-22, 12-12 Lakshya Sen: On the main court, it is once again a 1-point game at the break and against Nishimoto in front 11-10. But Sen makes it 12-12 after the break.

Men’s singles, round of 32, [15] Kenta Nishimoto 20-22, 8-10 Lakshya Sen: KN pulling ahead in the second game but Lakshya keeps closing the gap.

Meanwhile on court 3, get ready to welcome the defending champion.

Men’s doubles round of 32, [8] India 27-25 Chinese Taipei: WHAT. A. BATTLE! Satwik leading the team talk at the end of a sensational game of doubles badminton. Make sense of that graph!

Men’s doubles round of 32, [8] India 25-24 Chinese Taipei: Game point Indians now, and that is saved again. A short rally there. The Indians have another after good work from Chirag.

Men’s doubles round of 32, [8] India 23-23 Chinese Taipei: Another shuttle sails long and a review doesn’t help the Indians. A superb smash from Satwik makes it all level again.

Men’s doubles round of 32, [8] India 22-22 Chinese Taipei: The Indians have saved 2 game points now!

Men’s singles, round of 32, [15] Kenta Nishimoto 20-22 Lakshya Sen: First game, Sen! Big battle and Sen comes out on top. Nishimoto with a few errors towards the end and that is all Sen needed.

Men’s doubles round of 32, [8] India 20-21 Chinese Taipei: And on court 2 too, game points have come and gone for India! And now the TPE pair have a game point.

Men’s doubles round of 32, [8] India 20-17 Chinese Taipei: Terrific from Satwik to set up three game points.

Men’s singles, round of 32, [15] Kenta Nishimoto 20-20 Lakshya Sen: Two game points Sen, on the back of a lovely round-the-head crosscourt winner. Nishimoto saves both though!

Men’s doubles round of 32, [8] India 18-15 Chinese Taipei: As the best doubles pairs tend to do, Satwik-Chirag pulling away at the business end... and another cheap service error from Satwik this time. They get the serve back though.

Men’s singles, round of 32, [15] Kenta Nishimoto 18-18 Lakshya Sen: Fantastic crosscourt block from Sen and he draws level again! KN on the court. Super rally.

Men’s doubles round of 32, [8] India 13-13 Chinese Taipei: Really, really tight this one. Both pairs exchanging serve.

Men’s singles, round of 32, [15] Kenta Nishimoto 18-16 Lakshya Sen: LS sends a shuttle wide and then a good review from the Japanese as suddenly a handy two-point lead.

Men’s singles, round of 32, [15] Kenta Nishimoto 16-16 Lakshya Sen: Turning out to be a terrific battle this one!

Men’s doubles round of 32, [8] India 11-10 Chinese Taipei: Chirag with his signature “Maaaar... maar abhi” and Satwik kills off the point from the net as the Indians take a small lead to the interval. The coach mentions the service faults that gifted a couple of easy points to their opponents.

Men’s doubles round of 32, [8] India 9-9 Chinese Taipei: Great teamwork from Satwik-Chirag at the frontcourt and it is 9-9 in the opening game.

Men’s singles, round of 32, [15] Kenta Nishimoto 14-14 Lakshya Sen: Sen continuing to move and defend well. He is pushing Nishimoto on the defensive from time to time. And a sensational punch clear from the Indian to make it all level.

Men’s doubles round of 32, [8] India 6-6 Chinese Taipei: Second service fault for height by Chirag, geez! It is 5-5. And then misjudgement at the backline from the Indians, followed by good judgement.

Men’s doubles round of 32, [8] India 2-3 Chinese Taipei: A service fault for height nice and early from the Indians. Hopefully just getting out of the system. They have this issue! Satwik moving alright so far here, early days and all.

Men’s singles, round of 32, [15] Kenta Nishimoto 11-10 Lakshya Sen: This is living up to the hype so far. A lovely rally from Sen to make it 10-10, and then Nishimoto takes a slender lead to the interval.

Men’s singles, round of 32, Kenta Nishimoto [15] 9-9 Lakshya Sen: Sen wins a 43-shot rally. Kenta sent it wide in the end after being forced on the defensive by the Indian. A nice down the line smash to close the gap by Lakshya and then we are all level.

Men’s doubles round of 32, India vs Chinese Taipei: Eighth seeds Satwik-Chirag vs world No 31 Lee Jhe Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan. Players are on court. This will be their 2nd meeting, the previous one going Indian’s way at the recent French Open.

On court 2, time for Satwik-Chirag to begin their doubles campaign. A quick replug:

Interview: ‘After Olympics everything has changed, I want to win titles everywhere’ – Satwiksairaj

Men’s singles, round of 32, Kenta Nishimoto [15] 3-5 Lakshya Sen: Kevin Cordon awaits the winner of this match by the way. The Guatemalan Olympic star will be watching on you’d assume with keen interest. Meanwhile, a good run of points for Lakshya.

Men’s singles, round of 32, Kenta Nishimoto [15] 1-1 Lakshya Sen: With just two ranks between them this is a tough 2nd round match for Lakshya Sen. But in this quarter, Nishimoto is now the highest (only) seeded player left. Whoever wins this match should (on paper) be a medal favourite from here on.

Men’s singles, round of 32: Coming up next, as the commentator put it just now, could be the match of the day on Court 1. Lakshya Sen takes on world No 17 Kenta Nishimoto in this all top-20 first-round clash. One of those cruel tricks the draw in badminton tournaments throw up ever so often, but hey, it is part of the deal. This will be their first meeting on tour.

Mixed doubles R32, India 8-21, 18-21 Malaysia [9]: A good battle in the second game but the Malaysians close it out in straight games.

Mixed doubles R32, India 8-21, 17-20 Malaysia [9]: Match points now for the Malaysians as they step up their game just in time.

Mixed doubles R32, India 8-21, 16-17 Malaysia [9]: What a terrific rally! Sharma and Parikh play a superb point to make this a 1-point game.

Mixed doubles R32, India 8-21, 15-17 Malaysia [9]: Well, there is life in this one still. 5 straight points for the Indians now, for the second time in the second game.

Mixed doubles R32, India 8-21, 10-15 Malaysia [9]: Flurry of points now for the Malaysian pair. Seven on the trot.

Mixed doubles R32, India 8-21, 10-11 Malaysia [9]: The Indians did well to have the lead on a few occasions in this phase of play but the Malaysian pair win three points on the trot to go into the interval with a 1-point lead.

Mixed doubles R32, India 8-21, 8-6 Malaysia [9]: This is better from the Indians, they are starting to induce some more errors from the Malaysians. Keeping the shuttle in play longer.

Mixed doubles R32, India 8-21 Malaysia [9]: The Malaysians lead from start to front to take the first game comfortably.

Mixed doubles R32, India 6-14 Malaysia [9]: Parikh has played some good points from the back of the court, but there is not enough discipline from the Indian pair at the moment. Too many errors. Sharma struggling a bit.

Mixed doubles R32, India 4-11 Malaysia [9]: All short points early on in this match and the Malaysians are on song. They had a first-round bye because of their seeding. The Indians too had a first-round bye, as their opponents withdrew.

01.30 pm: We start off with mixed doubles on court 1 and Indian action straight away. A tough test for world No 104 Saurabh SHARMA and Anoushka PARIKH (they have been in the top 50) against 9th seeds TAN Kian Meng and LAI Pei Jing of Malaysia.

01.25 pm: HS Prannoy, India’s former top 10 player and a giant killer of repute, started off his campaign with a superb comeback against 9th seed Ng Ka Long Angus. Shame we couldn’t watch the match as it was on court 3, but it was a rollercoaster alright.

BWF World Championships, day 2 as it happened: Prannoy defeats world No 9 Angus, Axelsen knocked out

ICYMI: A huge upset on day 2.

Hello and welcome to our coverage of Day 3 of the BWF World Championships in Huelva.

Reigning world champion PV Sindhu will begin title defence today when she takes on Martina Repiska in the second round.

It shapes up to be a crucial day for Indians at the marquee event as Lakshya Sen and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty also kick off their campaigns amid hopes of making a deep run in the event. Former World No 1 Srikanth Kidambi also returns for his second round match.

All screenshots courtesy Tournament Software and Disney+Hotstar