Year Ender 2025: Lakshya Sen won the title, Tanvi-Ayush shone, this was the year of Indian badminton

Indian Badminton in 2025: The year 2025 was a mixed year for Indian badminton. While on one hand the senior players had to deal with fitness and form problems, on the other hand some big achievements and excellent performances by the young players also raised hopes for the future. The biggest individual achievement of Indian badminton this year was in the name of Lakshya Sen. He made a title comeback on the BWF World Tour after almost two years by winning the Australian Open Super 500 title. It was her first major title after the 2023 Canada Open and 2024 Syed Modi International. Apart from this, Lakshya was also the runner-up in the Hong Kong Open.

In men’s doubles, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty recovered from injury and illness to once again establish themselves as India’s number-1 pair. The pair won a bronze medal at the World Championships in Paris, made the finals of the Hong Kong Open and China Masters and ended the year on a positive note by becoming the first Indian men’s doubles pair to reach the knockouts of the BWF World Tour Finals.

Kidambi Srikanth also hinted at a comeback this season. He finished runner-up at the Malaysia Masters and Syed Modi International, however failed to win a title and his long trophy drought continued. In women’s doubles, Gayatri Gopichand and Trisa Jolly showed consistency by defending the Syed Modi International title.

Young players increased confidence

The most encouraging signs for Indian badminton in 2025 come from the young players. 20-year-old Ayush Shetty grabbed everyone’s attention by winning the US Open Super 300. He proved his talent by defeating legendary players like Kodai Naraoka, Loh Kean Yew, Chow Tien Chen and Brian Yang.

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16-year-old Tanvi Sharma won silver medal in girls’ singles at the World Junior Championships. She made it to the finals of the US Open and recorded her biggest win of the year by defeating former world No. 1 Nozomi Okuhara at the Syed Modi International. Tanvi finished the season by finishing runner-up at the Guwahati Masters.

Unnati Hooda won bronze in junior championship

Unnati Hooda played an important role in India winning bronze in the World Junior Team Championship. By winning the Odisha Masters Super 100, she reached 23rd position in the world rankings. Defeating PV Sindhu in China Masters was a major achievement of her career. Sanskar Saraswat won his first Super 100 title in Guwahati Masters.

Difficult year for senior stars

However, 2025 proved to be disappointing for the senior players. Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu reached the quarterfinals thrice, but was eliminated six times in the first and four times in the second round. He had to withdraw from all BWF tournaments after October due to hamstring and foot injuries.

This year was also very difficult for HS Prannoy. An ankle injury at the India Open and a rib muscle injury at the Korea Open affected her season. As a result, he kept getting dropped in the initial stages again and again. India’s performance in team competitions also did not live up to expectations. The Indian team could not make an impact in the Asia Mixed Team Championship and Sudirman Cup.