Badminton Game 2025 Review India

Lakshya Sen

• Research suggests 2025 was a transitional year for Indian badminton, marked by injuries and inconsistent form among veterans, but highlighted by strong performances from doubles specialists and emerging juniors.

• It seems likely that Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were the standout performers, securing a bronze at the BWF World Championships and becoming the first Indian men's doubles pair to reach the semifinals at the BWF World Tour Finals.

• Evidence leans toward promising breakthroughs from young talents like Ayush Shetty, who won the US Open Super 300, and Tanvi Sharma, who claimed silver at the World Junior Championships, signaling a bright future amid debates on depth in singles.

• The year saw no major controversies in mainstream events, but discussions around coaching changes and injury management underscored the need for better support systems.

Indian badminton in 2025 focused on rebuilding after the 2024 Olympics, with doubles providing consistency while singles players faced ups and downs. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty (SatChi) delivered the year's biggest highs, including a historic World Championships bronze—their second medal at the event—and topping their group at the Tour Finals with wins over top pairs like China's Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang and Malaysia's Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik. Lakshya Sen ended a title drought by winning the Australian Open Super 500, his first since 2023, after semifinals at the Kumamoto Masters and Macau Open. PV Sindhu showed glimpses of form with a quarterfinal at the World Championships, defeating world No. 2 Wang Zhi Yi, but struggled overall due to a foot injury. In mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto upset Hong Kong's Tang Chun Man/Tse Ying Suet at the Worlds before falling to the eventual champions.

Young players injected optimism. Ayush Shetty, at 20, announced himself with the US Open Super 300 title and semifinals at the Orleans Masters and Taipei Open, notching wins over top-10 players like Japan's Kodai Naraoka and Singapore's Loh Kean Yew. Sixteen-year-old Tanvi Sharma won silver at the World Junior Championships (individual) and bronze at the Asian Juniors, plus a runner-up finish at the US Open and semifinal at Syed Modi International. Unnati Hooda climbed to a career-high world ranking of 23, winning the Odisha Masters and reaching semifinals at Hylo Open and Taipei Open. At the Junior Worlds, India secured a team bronze—the first in 25 years—and five different players/pairs reached the quarterfinals, highlighting depth in the pipeline.

Player/Pair	Category	Key Achievements in 2025
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty	Men's Doubles	Bronze at BWF World Championships (second medal, first Indian pair with multiple); Semifinals at BWF World Tour Finals (first Indian men's pair); Runners-up at Hong Kong Open and China Masters; Semifinals at China Open and Denmark Open; Ended year at WR #3; Group toppers at Tour Finals with wins over Olympic medalists.
Lakshya Sen	Men's Singles	Won Australian Open Super 500 (first title since 2023); Semifinals at Kumamoto Masters and Macau Open; Runner-up at Hong Kong Open; Overcame 11 first-round exits to rebuild form post-Olympics.
Ayush Shetty	Men's Singles	Won US Open Super 300 (first Indian World Tour title of 2025); Semifinals at Orleans Masters and Taipei Open; Victories over top-10 players like Kodai Naraoka, Loh Kean Yew, Chou Tien Chen, and Brian Yang.
Tanvi Sharma	Women's Singles (Junior)	Silver at BWF World Junior Championships (individual); Bronze at Asian Junior Championships; Runner-up at US Open; Semifinal at Syed Modi International; Runner-up at Guwahati Masters; Wins over Nozomi Okuhara, Thuy Linh Nguyen, and Hina Akechi.
Unnati Hooda	Women's Singles	Won Odisha Masters; Semifinals at Syed Modi International, Hylo Open, and Taipei Open; Career-high WR #23.
PV Sindhu	Women's Singles	Quarterfinals at BWF World Championships (beat WR #2 Wang Zhi Yi); Limited play due to injury; Aimed for 2028 Olympics comeback.
Dhruv Kapila & Tanisha Crasto	Mixed Doubles	Upset win over Worlds medalists Tang Chun Man/Tse Ying Suet at BWF World Championships; Lost to eventual champions in quarterfinals.
Nitesh Kumar	Para (SL3)	3 golds at Asian Para-Badminton Championships (singles, mixed doubles with Thulasimathi Murugesan, men's doubles with Sukant Kadam).
Manisha Ramadass	Para (SU5)	Gold in women's singles at Asian Para-Badminton Championships.
Pramod Bhagat	Para	Triple golds at Japan and Abia Para Internationals; Double gold at Australia Para International (post-ban comeback).