Lakshya Sen was once browsing on a gorgeous prime occupation wave precisely a yr again. Having clinched a bronze on the 2021 World Championships in December, the 21-year-old claimed the India Open crown in January following it up with a runner-up efficiency on the German Open in March.
The shuttler from Almora made the headlines once more per week overdue when he become simplest the 5th Indian to achieve the finals of the All England Open Badminton Championships.
Birmingham has been a fortuitous venue for the shuttler from Almora having additionally clinched the Commonwealth Games gold there remaining yr in August. Sen will go back to the English the town with an intention to complete what he began remaining yr – transform simplest the 3rd Indian after Prakash Paudkone and Pullela Gopichand to win the prestigious event.
But the pathway is weighted down with more than one hindrances, beginning with Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen in Round 1, who gained bronze finally yr’s World Championships. Sen is but to overcome the 5th seed however had it in him to push the former two contests into the 3rd sport.
The street is not precisely simple for international No 12 Sen’s compatriots HS Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth – the opposite two Indians within the males’s singles draw. The 32 selected for the are the best on the earth with tricky competitions from the opener itself on the $1.25 million event.
India’s highest-ranked participant Prannoy has been in excellent shape previously yr, incomes large wins in opposition to most sensible avid gamers however in some way no longer managing to win tournaments – excluding the fantastic Thomas Cup bankruptcy remaining yr. The international no 9 will open in opposition to Wang Tzu Wei of Chinese Taipei in opposition to whom Prannoy has a 4-3 document. Former international No 1 Srikanth Toma Junior Popov of France in Round 1.
All 3 will run into seeded entries in both the primary or the second one rounds making festival more difficult as they growth at Arena Birmingham.
India’s largest hope is surely PV Sindhu who has a knack of coming excellent in main tournaments. However, the All England Open is one most sensible tournament which has no longer been her absolute best looking flooring, having by no means made it previous the semi-finals. But possibly the whiff of air has modified in Birmingham with the previous international champion having gained her remaining name – the Commonwealth Games gold – in the similar the town.
The double Olympic medalist was once out for 5 months on the finish of 2022 and her comeback to the circuit this yr hasn’t been too fruitful both after two first spherical exits in Kuala Lumpur and New Delhi which was once adopted via the announcement of her splitting with Coach Park Tae-sang.
Sindhu will tackle China’s Zhang Yi Man within the opener and might be up in opposition to any other Chinese in Round 2 – 5th seed He Bing Jiao. The simplest different Indian within the draw, Saina Nehwal – who’s the one Indian feminine to have reached the All England Open ultimate long ago in 2015 – will tackle Han Yue with the Chinese having a 3-1 benefit.
Indian contingent:
Men’s singles: Kidambi Srikanth, Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy
Women’s singles: Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu
Men’s doubles: MR Arjun/Dhruv Kapila, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty
Women’s doubles: Treesa Jolly/P Gayatri Gopichand, Okay Ashwini Bhat/Shikha Gautam
Mixed doubles: Ishaan Bhatnagar/Tanisha Crasto