Lakshya Sen to face Kidambi Srikanth in men's singles opener

PARIS: The men's singles competition at the French Open 2022 begins with an all-Indian match between medalists from the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth.

At the Denmark Open last week, Lakshya Sen advanced to the quarterfinals while Kidambi Srikanth was eliminated in the round of 16 after losing to former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore.

Lakshya Sen, the eighth-ranked player in the world, will go into the match as the favourite after improving his form this year, solidifying his place among the top 10 players in badminton and earning the gold medal at CWG 2022.

But Kidambi Srikanth, a seasoned player, has won the French Open before, in 2017. In the men's singles, HS Prannoy of India, who is presently rated first on the BWF World Tour, and Sameer Verma will also compete. Prannoy was defeated by Sen in the Denmark Open just a few days ago. Saina Nehwal, who won bronze in the Olympics, will be the only player from India in the women's singles event because PV Sindhu is recovering from an ankle fracture that would keep her out until December.

Nehwal faced a first-round exit in the Denmark Open. The Indian shuttler has been struggling to find form ever since her return.

The CWG men's doubles champions, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy are the only Indians seeded in the BWF Super 750 competition. As the seventh-seeded team, they may face Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi in the quarterfinals.

The Indian pair of shuttles made it to the quarterfinals of the Denmark open 2022. The other Indians competing in the competition are MR Arjun/Dhruv Kapila in the men's doubles, Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand, and Ishaan Bhatnagar/Tanisha Crasto in the mixed doubles.