Orleans Masters 2025: HS Prannoy, Kidambi Srikanth Crash Out; Ayush Shetty Lone Indian to Enter Quarter-Final

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Top Indian shuttlers HS Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth crashed out of the Orleans Masters 2025 badminton tournament following straight games defeats to their respective opponents in the round of 16 at the Palais des Sports in Orleans, France on Thursday (March 6).

Srikanth went down to the top seed - Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia, a Paris 2024 bronze medalist, who secured his second win of the competition by beating the former world number one by a scoreline of 21-11, 21-17 in just 30 minutes.

Asian Games bronze medallist Prannoy, on the other hand, also succumbed to an higher ranked opponent in men's singles, going down to second seed Chun-yi of Chinese Taipei 18-21, 9-21 in 37 minutes.

While the two seasoned campaigners made an early exit, unheralded Ayush Shetty continued his dream run and kept India's challenge alive at the Orleans Masters after securing a straight games win to enter the quarterfinals.

The 19-year-old Shetty, who is ranked 48th in the world, stunned Hong Kong's 38th-ranked Jason Gunawan with a 21-17, 21-17 victory in 50 minutes, securing his place in the last eight.

Shetty, who had earlier shocked former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in straight games in his opening round, will next take on Denmark's Rasmus Gemke in the men's singles quarter-final on Friday (March 7).

Apart from the singles competition, Indian shuttlers also had a bad day at the office in doubles as both the men's and mixed doubles pair bowed out of the BWF Super 300 tournament on Thursday (March 6).

In mixed doubles, Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde withdrew from the tournament, handed a walkover into the quarterfinals for their opponents, Yang Po-Hsuan and Ling Fang Hu. In men's doubles, P Krishnamurthy Roy and S Pratheek K were eliminated by the fourth-seeded duo of Lee J H and P H Yang, losing 16-21, 13-21 in the round of 16.

Earlier on Wednesday (March 5), women's singles shuttlers Unnati Hooda, Malvika Bansod and Isharani Baruah as well as mixed doubles pair of Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila also crashed out in the opening round.