BAI president Himanta Sarma oversees ongoing activities at India Open 2023

New Delhi [India], January 18 (ANI): Badminton Association of India President and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium to encourage the players and also took stock of the administrative efforts being put together for the successful conduct of India Open 2023.
He also witnessed a match on the second day of the prestigious tournament.
Sarma spent almost an hour talking to officials from the Badminton World Federation, discussing ways to make this BWF World Tour Super 750 event a grand success.
Sarma watched the match between second seed Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia and Shesar Hiren Rhustavirto.
"It is heart-warming to see badminton fans getting to see some of the best badminton players in action. This is a legacy tournament for Indian Badminton and my vision is to see India as one of the major hosting nations for badminton in the world. Not only that, it is also a huge inspiration for so many to take up sports in India too. I am confident that the India Open will only grow in stature from here on."
India is set to host seven senior internationals and two junior internationals this year, underlining India's growing stature as the next hub of world badminton.
India's ace shuttler Kidambi Srikanth suffered a second consecutive BWF World Tour 2023 first-round exit after defeat to World No 1 Viktor Axelsen at the India Open 2023 men's singles competition on Wednesday.
In the round of 32 of the BWF Super 750 competition, Kidambi Srikanth, a former World No. 1, was defeated by the current Olympic and world champion in straight sets 21-14, 21-19.
Later in the day, women's doubles team Ashwini Bhat K and Shikha Gautam, as well as women's singles players Aakarshi Kashyap and Malvika Bansod, suffered defeats.
Malvika Bansod was defeated by reigning champion Busanan Ongbamrungphan of Thailand 17-21, 12-21, while Aakarshi Kashyap was defeated by USA's Beiwen Zhang 21-15, 21-12. Meanwhile, Malaysia's Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan, the current Commonwealth Games champions, outplayed Ashwini Bhat K and Shikha Gautam.
Saina Nehwal, who won the bronze medal at London 2012, and Lakshya Sen, the defending India Open winner, both advanced to the second round of their respective competitions on Tuesday, but PV Sindhu was eliminated early after losing to Supanida Katethong of Thailand.
A BWF Super 750 event, the India Open 2023 will end on January 22. (ANI)