India’s Top Badminton Players Gear Up for the Hong Kong Open 2023

The Hong Kong Open Super 500 badminton tournament starts on Tuesday, and India’s best players are ready to make a strong impact. Leading the team are Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, ranked No. 3 in the world. After winning a bronze medal at the World Championships in Paris, they’re looking to keep their great form going. They will face Chiu Hsiang Chieh and Wang Chi-Lin from Chinese Taipei in their first match.

PV Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, is also in action. She recently showed some of her best form at the World Championships, beating China’s Wang Zhi Yi before losing in the quarterfinals. Sindhu will start her campaign against Denmark’s Line Christophersen.

Lakshya Sen, who was fourth at the Paris Olympics, has been struggling with form and fitness lately. He will play Wang Tzu Wei from Chinese Taipei in his opening match. HS Prannoy, another veteran, will face Japan’s fifth seed Kodai Naraoka after pushing Denmark’s Anders Antonsen to the limit at the World Championships.

Ayush Shetty, the US Open champion, faces a tough match against China’s Lu Guang Zu. In women’s singles, Anupama Upadhyaya will play Japan’s fourth seed, Tomoka Miyazaki, while Rakshitha Ramraj faces Thailand’s former world champion, Ratchanok Intanon.

In doubles, Hariharan Amsakarunan and Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi will play in the men’s category, while Rutaparna and Swetaparna Panda will compete in women’s doubles.

In mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto will face Chinese Taipei’s Chen Cheng Kuan and Hsu Yin-Hui. Rohan Kapoor and Gadde Ruthvika Shivani have a tough challenge against China’s second seeds Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping.

In the qualifiers, former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth will play against Tharun Mannepalli in an all-Indian matchup. Srikanth is the only Indian to reach a Super 500 final this year.