Paris, Oct 19: Indian shuttlers, led by the seasoned P V Sindhu, would be desperate to overcome their recent struggles and make a mark at the USD 950,000 French Open Super 750 badminton tournament that begins here on Tuesday.
Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, will face South Korea’s top seed An Se Young in the women’s singles first round, while sixth seed Lakshya Sen will take on Japan’s Kodai Naraoka in the men’s singles opener.
Sindhu was drawn against the world No. 1 Korean at last week’s Denmark Open as well. However, following multiple last-minute withdrawals by seeded players, the tournament organisers revised the draw because of which Sindhu ultimately clashed with Germany’s Yvonne Li.
The Indian suffered a shock first-round defeat to the lower-ranked German. She will need to raise her game considerably to challenge Young in her opening match this week.
Lakshya had recovered from a back issue to beat Naraoka and help India secure a bronze medal in the men’s team event of the Asian Games, but his form has since dipped.
The Almora shuttler faces the same opponent in his opening match this week and would hope to be back at his best.
Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth has looked sharp and troubled his opponents.
Last week, he pushed reigning world champion Alex Lanier hard with his superior net play before letting the match slip away.
Srikanth will be aiming to build on the momentum when he faces compatriot Ayush Shetty in a clash between two generations.
In men’s doubles, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have been India’s most consistent pair this year, winning titles at Singapore and China.
However, their shock early exit from the Asian Games was a dampener, and they will hope to bounce back when they face French brothers Christo Popov and Toma Junior Popov.
The women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, who won their maiden World Championships bronze this year, will take on Taiwan’s Lin Chih-Chun and Yang Chu Yun.
In women’s singles, Tanvi Sharma and Isharani Baruah will face each other in an all-Indian first-round clash.
Ashmita Chaliha will open her campaign against China’s Han Qian Xi, while Unnati Hooda will face Japan’s Riko Gunji.
Devika Sihag has been drawn against fifth seed Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia. (PTI)