Indian men’s singles players Laksa Sen, Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoythey had a tough draw in Badminton India Open 2023which will be held at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall in New Delhi from January 17 to 22.
All three Indian players are in a half that includes the reigning world and Olympic champions Wiktor Axelsen from Denmark, Chinese Shi Yu Qi and Japanese Kento Momota.
Lakshya Sen, the reigning Indian Open champion, will start his campaign against compatriot HS Prannoy, with the winner of the match likely to drop into former world No. 1 Kento Momota Japan.
Former champion Kidambi Srikanth must overcome Axelsen’s top spot challenge in the opening round with a potential clash with China’s Shi Yu Qi, a former world championship silver medalist, if he advances.
With all three Indian badminton players in the same quarter, only one can progress to the quarter-finals.
She was the world champion in women’s singles PV Sindhu will face Supanida Katethong from Thailand, who defeated the two-time Olympic medalist in last year’s semi-final.
If he overcomes the first hurdle, PV Sindhu could meet the reigning Olympic champion from China Chen Yufei in the quarterfinals.
Three other Indians will fight in women’s singles Saina Nehwal starting with Danish Mia Blichfeldt. Coming stars Malwika Bansod and Aakarshi Kashyap managed to avoid a top 10 opponent in the first round.
Malvika Bansod, ranked No. 30 in the badminton world rankings, will face Thailand’s No. 11 Busanan Ongbamrungphan while Kashyap, No. 32, will face former India Open champion and No. 26, Beiwen Zhang of the USA in the first round.
Fifth seed in men’s doubles Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty start a campaign against Denmark’s Jeppe Bay and Lasse Molhede, ranked 31st in the world. The Indian duo, who advanced to the semi-finals of the Malaysia Open 2023, face a potential quarter-final clash with top seeds Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi of Japan.
Among other Indian couples, world No. 21 MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila will face sixth seeds Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen of Denmark in the opening round as Krishna Prasad G and Vishnuvardhan Goud P kick off their campaign against Dutchmen Ruben Jille and Ties Van Der Lecq .
In women’s doubles, All England 2022 semi-finalists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will face Margot Lambert and Anne Tran of France in the first round, while Ashwini Bhat K and Shikha Gautam will start their campaign against Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan of Malaysia, who occupy eighth place.
India’s only representative in mixed doubles, Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Castro, will face the Dutch Robin Tabeling and Selena Piek.
The India Open will be the second event on the BWF World Tour 2023 calendar and has been upgraded to the Super 750 category this year from its previous Super 500 status. Top players from around the world will take part in the update. Big names such as Nozomi Okuhara, Carolina Marin, Akane Yamaguchi, Loh Kean Yew and Anthony Sinisuka Ginting will also be playing.
Where to watch India Open 2023 badminton live in India
India Open 2023 live stream will be available on the official YouTube channel of the World Badminton Federation BWF TV. Badminton India Open will be broadcast on Eurosport TV channels in India.
Badminton Ind Open 2023: India lineup
Single men: HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth
single women: PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Malvika Bansod, Aakarshi Kashyap
Men’s Doubles: Chirag Shetty/Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Krishna Prasad G/Vishnuvardhan Goud P
Two women: Shruti Mishra/N Sikki Reddy, Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand, Ashwini Bhat K/Shikha Gautam, Haritha Manazhiyil H/Ashna ROY
Mixed Doubles: Ishaan Bhatnagar/Tanisha Crasto
