Lakshya Sen will aim to bounce back from his disappointing BWF Badminton World Championships campaign when he leads India’s challenge at the China Masters Super 750, beginning on Tuesday.
The World No. 13 faces an immediate test, having been drawn against newly crowned world champion Alex Lanier in the opening round. Lakshya will be looking to quickly move past his early World Championships exit and rediscover the form that has produced several strong results this year.
Despite his setback at the Worlds, the Indian has enjoyed a consistent season. He reached the final of the All England Championships and also made the quarterfinals at four other tournaments.
Former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth is another Indian in the men’s singles draw. Srikanth, who finished runner-up at the US Open Super 300, begins his campaign against Chinese Taipei’s Chi Yu-jen in the Round of 32.
India will also have high expectations from Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in men’s doubles. The fourth-seeded pair will meet China’s Hu Ke Yuan and Lin Xiang Yi, winners of the Orleans Masters earlier this season.
Satwik and Chirag captured the Singapore Open title this year but could only reach the third round of the World Championships.
India’s women’s singles challenge will feature Unnati Hooda, Tanvi Sharma and Devika Sihag. Unnati, who finished third at the Taipei Open in late July, has a difficult opening assignment against Chinese fifth seed Han Yue.
Taipei Open champion Tanvi will meet Denmark’s Amalie Schulz, while Devika faces Bulgaria’s Kaloyana Nalbantova. The 21-year-old Devika enters the tournament with confidence after winning the Thailand Masters Super 300.
In another men’s doubles contest, Hariharan Amsakarunan and M. R. Arjun have been handed a challenging opener against Japanese eighth seeds Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi, the 2021 world champions.
India will also have two combinations competing in mixed doubles. Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto will begin against Thailand’s Tonkid and Tonrug Saeheng, while Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde are scheduled to face Chinese Taipei’s Wu Guan Xun and Lee Chia Hsin.
With several difficult first-round matches across categories, Lakshya’s showdown with the newly crowned world champion will headline India’s opening challenge at the Super 750 event.
