BWF India Open: Indian Shuttlers Face Tough Draw, Lakshya Sen-Ayush Shetty Clash In Opener

Indian badminton players have been handed a challenging opening draw at the Yonex-Sunrise India Open Super 750, scheduled from January 13 to 18 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi.

In men’s singles, former champion Lakshya Sen will open his campaign in an all-Indian first-round clash against rising star Ayush Shetty. The winner will face an even sterner test in the second round against either fourth seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei or Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto. The draw ensures that only three of the four Indian men’s singles players can progress to the round of 16.

Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth will take on world No. 12 Lin Chun-Yi of Chinese Taipei, a member of their 2024 Thomas Cup bronze-winning team. A potential second-round meeting with France’s Christo Popov- who made history last month by becoming the first Frenchman to win the BWF World Tour Finals men’s singles title- looms. H.S. Prannoy, drafted into the main draw following the withdrawal of Denmark’s Anders Antonsen, will face last year’s finalist Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong in his opener.

In women’s singles, former world champion P.V. Sindhu will begin against Vietnam’s Nguyen Thuy Linh, who defeated her twice last year. Ranked 22 in the world, Nguyen was among the most improved players on the circuit in 2024. Should Sindhu advance, she is likely to face second seed Wang Zhi Yi or China’s Gao Fang Jie in the second round. Malvika Bansod, returning from a long injury layoff and competing on a protected ranking, will face Pai Yu Po of Chinese Taipei in the opening round.

In doubles, former champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have been given a relatively comfortable start against Americans Chen Zhi Yi and Presley Smith. Their first major hurdle could come in the quarter-finals against Chinese eighth seeds Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi. In women’s doubles, two-time All England semifinalists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will take on Thailand’s Ornnicha Jongsathapornparn and Sukitta Suwachai, with Chinese seventh seeds Li Yi Jing and Luo Xu Min possible second-round opponents.

Among other notable first-round clashes, top seed An Se Young will face former world champion Nozomi Okuhara, while third seed Akane Yamaguchi is set to meet compatriot Riko Gunji.

The India Open has been upgraded to Super 750 status since 2023 and has moved from the KD Jadhav Indoor Stadium to a larger multi-purpose hall within the Indira Gandhi Stadium Complex. The tournament will also serve as a test event ahead of the BWF World Championships, which will be held at the same venue in August.

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