India Open badminton: Big-ticket badminton returned to Delhi this week with the prestigious $950,000 India Open, part of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 750 Series, on January 14. Some of India’s top stars, including PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, and the ace men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, are among the 45 Indian players securing 28 entries across five categories.
In total, over 200 players from traditional badminton powerhouses like China, Japan, Denmark, South Korea, and Indonesia, among others, are vying for top honours at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall of the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex.
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A fresh start for Sindhu and Lakshya
This is the first competition for several Indian stars, such as Sindhu and Lakshya, after a disappointing outing at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Lakshya, the 2022 India Open champion, emerged as the best Indian performer in Paris, finishing fourth, while Sindhu, an Olympic silver medallist in 2016 and bronze medallist in 2020, exited in the Round of 16. Both players took a break post-Olympics, with Sindhu also getting married in December, and are now back on court.
“After the Paris Olympics, I wanted some time to recover physically and emotionally, and the break has helped me get back rejuvenated,” said Sindhu, the 2017 India Open champion. She began her campaign positively, defeating Sung Shuo Yun of Chinese Taipei 21-14, 22-20 in 51 minutes, although not without a fight.
Kiran George’s dramatic entry
In a thrilling opening-round clash, late Indian entry Kiran George faced Japan’s Yushi Tanaka. George saved three match points and overcame three of his own missed opportunities to seal the match before clinching a 21-19, 14-21, 27-25 victory in an hour and 11 minutes.
George’s entry, along with that of former world No.1 Kidambi Srikanth, was confirmed at the last moment following the withdrawal of top seed Shi Yuqi of China and eighth seed Antony Ginting of Indonesia. “I was hoping for the last-minute entry as I was first reserve and had come to Delhi on Saturday itself to ensure that I am well prepared,” said George.
Lakshya, who replaced Ginting in the draw, was slated to face Lin Chun-Yi of Chinese Taipei in his opening round, while Srikanth drew China’s Hong Yang Weng.
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Doubles pairs deliver mixed results
In the men’s doubles, seventh seeds Rankireddy and Shetty, fresh from their Asian Games gold medal win, overcame Malaysia’s Wei Chong Man and Kai Wun Tee in a gruelling 23-21, 19-21, 21-16 first-round match. The 2022 India Open champions had returned to competitive action only recently, reaching the Malaysia Open Super 1000 semi-finals last week.
“The shoulder injury has been on and off, but I also had a back injury after the Paris Olympics which took time to recover from. Now I am fine and have no problems,” said Rankireddy.
In the mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto staged a remarkable comeback to beat Chen Cheng Kuan and Hsu Yin-Hui of Chinese Taipei 8-21, 21-19, 21-17. However, in the women’s doubles, the fifth-seeded pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand suffered a narrow 21-23, 19-21 defeat to Japan’s Arisa Igarashi and Ayako Sakuramoto.
The tournament concludes on January 19, promising an intense finish to the week’s enthralling action.
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