India Open: Kidambi Srikanth, Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy clubbed in ‘quarter of death’

Indian males’s singles gamers have been handed a troublesome draw with Kidambi Srikanth, Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy — all clubbed collectively in the identical quarter on the Yonex Sunrise India Open badminton match, scheduled to be held from January 17 to 22.

Former world champion and double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu will face her final version’s nemesis Supanida Katethong within the opening spherical of the BWF World Tour occasion, which has been upgraded to Super 750 class this yr.

Reigning champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will, in the meantime, start their males’s doubles marketing campaign in opposition to Denmark’s Jeppe Bay and Lasse Molhede, ranked no. 31 on this planet.

The fifth seeded duo would goal a possible quarterfinal conflict in opposition to high seeds Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi of Japan, in what can be the primary main hurdle of their title defence.

The trio of Srikanth, Prannoy and Sen will carry India’s hopes within the match however given the draw just one can cross the final eight hurdle, which incorporates reigning World and Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen, China’s Shi Yu Qi and Japan’s Kento Momota.

Defending champion Sen will start his marketing campaign in opposition to compatriot Prannoy and the winner of the match is more likely to run into Momota, who’s trying to return in 2023 after struggling for type this yr.

Former champion Srikanth has to beat the problem of high seed Axelsen within the opening spherical with a possible conflict in opposition to Shi, who has made a powerful comeback after being out of motion for nearly 10 months.
Among others, fifth seed Sindhu faces Kathethong within the repeat of final version’s semi-final conflict, which the Indian misplaced in three video games.

The former world champion, who has been out of motion on account of a heel damage for the reason that Commonwealth Games in August, has a possible quarterfinal conflict in opposition to Chen Yufei. Former world no. 1 Saina Nehwal, who had a forgettable season with accidents, will kick off her marketing campaign in opposition to Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt.

Bansod, Kashyap get an opportunity to make a mark

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Malvika Bansod and Aakarshi Kashyap have managed to keep away from a top-10 opponent within the opening spherical of what’s going to be their first look on the Super 750 degree.

World no. 30 Bansod will tackle Thailand’s world no. 11 Busanan Ongbamrungphan, whereas Kashyap, world no. 32, meets former India Open champion and world no. 26 Beiwen Zhang of USA within the opening spherical.

In males’s doubles, world no. 21 MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila will face sixth seeds Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen of Denmark within the opening spherical, whereas Krishna Prasad G and Vishnuvardhan Goud P start their marketing campaign in opposition to Netherlands’ Ruben Jille and Ties Van Der Lecq.

In ladies’s doubles, All England semi-finalists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand Pullela will face France’s Margot Lambert and Anne Tran within the opening spherical, whereas Ashwini Bhat Okay and Shikha Gautam will open in opposition to eighth seeds Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan of Malaysia.
India’s solely entry in blended doubles, Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Castro will face Netherlands’ Robin Tabeling and Selena Piek.