The Danish ace and top seed, fresh from his Malaysia Open win on Sunday, served out his fourth-seed opponent in 38 minutes in the men's singles semi-finals in New Delhi.
Lakshya Sen reduced an 8-14 deficit in the decider to 13-14 after losing the second game but couldn’t go the distance, losing 21-16, 15-21, 18-21 to Gemke in a match that lasted an hour and 21 minutes at the IG stadium.
Srikanth, a world championship silver medallist, flattered to deceive as he squandered a 14-5 lead in the second game to go down 14-21, 19-21 to the world no. 1 Dane, leaving the cheering fans at the IG stadium disappointed.
It was Sindhu’s second first-round exit following the opening-round loss to Carolina Marin at the Malaysia Open Super 1000 last week.
While seventh seed Sen and Satwik-Chirag, seeded fifth, are entering the USD 900,000 event as defending champions, Sindhu and world No. 13 Kidambi Srikanth are also former champions.
Satwik-Chirag pair put up a brave effort but Liang and Wang, ranked 17th, showed better nerves in the closing stages to register a 21-16 11-21 21-15 win in an hour and four minutes match to reach their maiden super 1000 finals.
30-year-old Prannoy ran out of steam in the 84-minute contest, losing 16-21 21-19 10-21 to the 21-year-old Naraoka. The doubles pair played their hearts out to defeat the World Tour Champions.
The unprecedented success last year saw the two achieve a career-best ranking of world No. 5 at the fag end of the year and Chirag says the next aim is to breach the top 3.
World number 8 Prannoy staved off the spirited challenge from Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo to win 21-9 15-21 21-16 while Jolly and Gopichand suffered a 13-21 21-15 17-21 loss to Bulgaria's Gabriela Stoeva and Stefani Stoeva
PV Sindhu, who was playing her first match since August, lost 12-21, 10-21, 15-21 to 2016 Olympics champion Carolina Marin of Spain in 59 minutes
Saina Nehwal, who endured a tough 2022, battling multiple injuries and a lack of form, went down 12-21 21-17 12-21 to Han Yue of China in the $1,250,000 Super 1000 tournament.
Sindhu last played at the Commonwealth Games in August and it will be an interesting battle against Marin, who has won the last three encounters against the Indian.
Lakshya Sen would be the second men's singles player in the squad while Aakarshi Kashyap would provide backup to PV Sindhu in women's singles.
The selection committee has decided to give singles players Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, PV Sindhu, and men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Ranikreddy and Chirag Shetty direct entry into the squad.
Former world champion and double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu will face her last edition's nemesis Supanida Katethong in the opening round.
Based on their superior world rankings, Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, PV Sindhu and men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Ranikreddy and Chirag Shetty were granted direct entry into the Indian squad for the Asian Mixed Team Championship.
Lakshya Sen remained static at world number seven, while Kidambi Srikanth lost a place to be at the 12th position in the BWF World Rankings.
Defending champion Viktor Axelsen defeated Anthony Ginting 21-13, 21-14 to reclaim the BWF World Tour Finals title; Akane Yamaguchi beat Tai Tzu Ying 21-18, 22-20.
The semi-final on Saturday was a rematch from Thursday when Chen Yufei beat Akane Yamaguchi in straight games.
Prannoy lost the opening game 14-21 but came back stronger to take the next two 21-17 and 21-18 to end his campaign on a high.
HS Prannoy who had lost to the same opponent in his only meeting at French Open this year, put up a brave effort but couldn't go the distance, losing 21-23 21-17 19-21 in a gruelling 84-minute contest.
HS Prannoy lost 11-21 21-9 17-21 to Naraoka in an hour-long contest.
India's Manisha Ramadass has claimed the BWF Female Para-Badminton Player of the Year award for her stellar run this season.
Prannoy will be the lone Indian at the year-ending tournament, which was moved from Guangzhou, China, due to the rise in COVID-19 infection cases
Indian shuttlers won six golds including four in singles and two in doubles competition.
The men's doubles pair of Arsh Mohammad and Sanskar Saraswat also finished second best as the Indian contingent finished the prestigious event with three silver and two bronze medals.
The charges were levelled against the top-ranked Indian shuttler and his family as well as coach Kumar on the basis of an FIR filed in Bengaluru by one M Goviappa Nagaraja.
Indian shuttlers grabbed five medals in 2018 while they won two in the 2019 edition of the Badminton Asia Junior Championships.
Bhagat won his fourth world title in the men's singles SL3 class in Tokyo last month and will hope to win a fifth like Chinese badminton legend Lin Dan besides winning gold at the 2024 Paris Games.
PV Sindhu, who hasn't played any tournament since the Birmingham CWG due to an ankle injury, also stayed at the world number six position.