India’s shuttlers brace for stern test as Hong Kong Open begins Tuesday

India’s top badminton stars are set for another testing week as the Hong Kong Open Super 500 begins Tuesday, with the World No. 3 men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty once again carrying the nation’s hopes fresh off their bronze medal at the World Championships in Paris.

Satwik and Chirag have been India’s most consistent performers on the BWF Tour this season, stringing together semifinal finishes in India, Malaysia, China, and Singapore. Seeded eighth in Hong Kong, they begin against Chinese Taipei’s Chiu Hsiang Chieh and Wang Chi-Lin.

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In women’s singles, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, who impressed at the Worlds with a dominant win over China’s Wang Zhi Yi before bowing out in the quarterfinals, opens her campaign against Denmark’s Line Christophersen.

Lakshya Sen, a former world No. 6 still seeking rhythm after his fourth-place finish at the Paris Olympics, takes on Wang Tzu Wei of Chinese Taipei. Sen has endured a difficult stretch of narrow defeats and fitness issues, including a first-round exit at the Worlds to top seed Shi Yu Qi.

Veteran HS Prannoy, who came agonisingly close against Denmark’s Anders Antonsen in Paris, faces another tough opener against Japan’s fifth seed, Kodai Naraoka. Rising youngster Ayush Shetty, the US Open champion earlier this year, begins against China’s Lu Guang Zu.

Among the women’s contingent, Anupama Upadhyaya runs into Japan’s fourth seed, Tomoka Miyazaki, while Rakshitha Ramraj meets Thailand’s former world champion and fifth seed, Ratchanok Intanon.

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

India will also pin hopes on its mixed doubles pairs, led by Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, who are coming off a quarterfinal finish at the Worlds. They open against Chen Cheng Kuan and Hsu Yin-Hui of Chinese Taipei.

The other mixed doubles pair of Rohan Kapoor and Gadde Ruthvika Shivani face a daunting challenge against China’s second seeds, Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping.

The qualifiers bring an all-Indian battle as former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth takes on Tharun Mannepalli. Srikanth, notably, remains the only Indian to reach a Super 500 final this year, finishing runner-up at the Malaysia Masters. Meanwhile, Kiran George faces Malaysia’s Cheam June Wei, while S Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian takes on Canada’s Wang Yue Hang.