Arctic Open 2026: PV Sindhu advances to second round

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu progressed to the women's singles second round, while Tharun Mannepalli and Rounak Chouhan advanced to the men's singles main draw with wins on a mixed day for India at the USD 500,000 Arctic Open Super 500 tournament on Tuesday. Former world champion Sindhu, who missed out on a medal at Asian Games after losing in the quarterfinals, beat Canada's Wen Yu Zhang 21-8, 21-11 in 28 minutes.The 31-year-old, who won the Japan Open in July, will either face Chinese Taipei's Lin Hsiang Ti or Riko Gunji of Japan next.However, Unnati Hooda and Ashmita Chaliha fought hard before being ousted from the tournament.Hooda, who also reached the quarters at Asiad, lost 16-21, 21-15, 22-24 to China's Han Qian Xi, while Chaliha suffered a 7-21, 21-14, 24-26 loss to seventh seed Line Christophersen of Denmark.Malvika Bansod, meanwhile, defeated Taiwan's Sung Shuo Yun 21-15, 14-21, 21-14 to enter the main draw but couldn't get past veteran Scottish player Kirsty Gilmour, going down 18-21 13-21 in 40 minutes in the round of 32.In qualification round, Mannepalli defeated second seed Julien Carraggi of Belgium 21-12, 19-21, 21-13. He will meet Denmark's Magnus Johannesen in the main draw.Chouhan outlasted Dil Dubovenko of Israel 18-21, 21-17, 21-19. He will face China's Weng Hong Yang.However, Rakshitha Sree Santhosh Ramraj bowed out after losing 11-21, 21-16, 9-21 to Germany's Yvonne Li.India's Achutaditya Rao Doddavarapu and Pochana Arjun Reddy lost 9-21, 16-21 to Finland's Juha Honkanen and Jesper Paul.In main draw, India's Ishaan Bhatnagar and Shruti Mishra lost 2-21, 6-21 to Thailand's Pakkapon Teeraratsakul and Sapsiree Taerattanachai. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited . It is published from a syndicated feed.)