Indian shuttlers eye strong footing at Asia Championships

NINGBO: India's top shuttlers, including Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy and two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, will try to overcome their string of below-par performances this season when the opening-round matches in the Badminton Asia Championships commence on Tuesday.

Besides the two top-ranked Indian men's singles players in the world, Prannoy (17th) and Sen (18th), Kiran George (34th) and Priyanshu Rajawat (35th) will aim to put up a good show, while in women's singles, Sindhu, whose world ranking has dropped to 17th, will hope to recover her form in the continental event.

The other Indians in the fray, the young Malvika Bansod (23rd), Anupama Upadhyaya (43rd) and Aakarshi Kashyap (48th), will be keen to make an impact in an extremely tough field.

Sen, a bronze medallist at the 2021 World Championships, will open his campaign against Chinese Taipei's Lee Chia-Hao, a finalist at the All England Championships early this month.

Prannoy, who hasn't been at his best since suffering a bout of Chikengunya, will face China's Guang Zu Lu in his first match. Priyanshu Rajawat has been drawn against Thailand's Kantaphon Wangcharoen, while Kiran George will face a qualifier.

In the women's singles, two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu will begin her campaign against world

No 34 Ester Nurumi Tri Wardoyo of Indonesia, while her compatriots face stiffer challenges.

Anupama will take on Thailand's former world champion Ratchanok Intanon, seeded eighth, while Malvika has been drawn against China's Fang Jie Gao. Aakarshi Kashyap faces second seed Yue Han of China.

In men's doubles, India will be represented by the unheralded duo of Hariharan Amsakarunan and Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi, along with Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy and Sai Pratheek K.

The mixed doubles event will feature Rohan Kapoor/Ruthvika Shivani Gadde, Sathish Karunakaran/Aadya Variyath, Dhruv Kapila/Tanisha Crasto, and Ashith Surya/Amrutha Pramuthesh