Badminton World Championships: Lakshya Sen Faces World No 1 In Opener As Indians Handed Tough Draws
In women's singles, PV Sindhu, a five-time medallist at the event, has a relatively easy first round.
Lakshya Sen will begin his campaign against world No. 1 Shi Yu Qi of China as Indian shuttlers received challenging draws for the World Championships starting on August 25.
This will mark the fifth meeting between the two shuttlers, with Shi holding a superior 3-1 lead in their head-to-head record against the Indian, who won a bronze medal in the 2021 edition of the tournament.
Former Commonwealth Games gold medallist Lakshya has struggled to regain his form since his semifinal loss at the Paris Olympics last year.
The 23-year-old from Almora, currently ranked 21, has faced consistency issues this season, achieving only a quarterfinal finish at the All England. Lakshya has shown glimpses of his potential but has struggled to close out key matches this season.
Another men's singles bronze medallist, HS Prannoy, will start against the lower-ranked Joakim Oldorff of Finland. However, a likely second-round clash with world No. 2 Anders Antonsen of Denmark awaits the world No. 34 Indian.
In women's singles, PV Sindhu, the most successful Indian shuttler in the tournament and a five-time medallist, has a relatively easy first round. She begins her campaign against world No. 66 Kaloyana Nalbantova of Bulgaria.
However, the two-time Olympic medallist and 2019 champion, who has also struggled for form recently, could meet world No. 2 Wang Zhi Yi of China in the round of 16.
For Sindhu, now ranked 15, a quarterfinal appearance at the India Open remains her best result this year. The 30-year-old former world champion has suffered multiple early exits.
The top Indian men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have received a first-round bye. In the second round, they will face either compatriots Hariharan Amsakarunan and Ruben Kumar, or Chinese Taipei's Liu Kuang Heng and Yang Po Han.
But a potential round-of-16 clash looms against world No. 6 Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who lead the Indians 6-2 in head-to-head meetings.
If they get past the Chinese duo, Satwik and Chirag could encounter their long-time foes, Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, who have beaten them 11 times in 14 encounters, including the Paris Olympic quarterfinals.
However, it has been a season of steady performances for the world No. 3 pair, who have reached the semifinals at the India Open, Singapore Open, and Malaysia Open, as well as the quarterfinals at the Indonesia Open.
With PTI Inputs
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