New Delhi: Indian badminton stars Lakshya Sen and PV Sindhu will spearhead the country’s challenge at the Thailand Open Super 500 tournament as the focus shifts back to individual competition following India’s bronze medal finish at the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals.
The USD 500,000 tournament begins on Tuesday, with several Indian players looking to build momentum after encouraging performances in the recent team championships.
Seventh seeded Lakshya Sen returns to action after missing India’s crucial Thomas Cup semifinal clash against France due to an elbow injury. The Indian shuttler will begin his campaign against Singapore’s Jason Teh Jia Heng in the opening round.
Youngster Ayush Shetty, who impressed during the Thomas Cup campaign, faces a difficult opening challenge against sixth seed Kodai Naraoka of Japan.
In women’s singles, sixth seeded PV Sindhu will take on Chinese Taipei’s Tung Ciou-Tong in her opener. The two time Olympic medallist showed promising form during the Uber Cup, though she continues to search for consistency in closing out tight matches. Sindhu has reached the semifinals in Malaysia and the quarterfinals in Indonesia this season, but is still chasing her first title of the year.
Former world championships silver medallist Kidambi Srikanth will face a stern test against eighth seed Loh Kean Yew in a rematch of the 2021 World Championships final. Srikanth has shown glimpses of form in recent tournaments but continues to battle inconsistency.
Among other Indian women in singles action, Unnati Hooda faces fourth seed Pornpawee Chochuwong, while Malvika Bansod meets Canada’s Wen Yu Zhang. Anmol Kharb has drawn former Olympic champion Chen Yufei in a challenging opener.
In men’s doubles, top seeded Indian pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will begin against Indonesia’s Muh Putra Erwiansyah and Bagas Maulana. The duo will look to regain top form after returning from injury concerns during the Thomas Cup campaign.
India will also have representation in women’s doubles and mixed doubles as several young pairs aim to make an impact at the prestigious tournament.
