China Open Super 1000: Satwik-Chirag lead Indian challenge, Schedule, Where to watch

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Top Indian shuttlers will aim to build their momentum for the upcoming World Championships as they kick-off their campaign at the China Open Super 1000 event tomorrow.

Currently ranked world number 15 in world, the duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will be looking to break the semi-final curse of this season as they have reached three semifinals this season including the Malaysia Open and India Open. Satwik’s health concerns and Chirag’s back injury stalled their season but they returned to reach semifinal of Singapore Open and quarterfinal of Indonesia Open.

The former world number one pair will start their campaign in China against Japan’s Kenya Mitsuhashi and Hiroki Okamura.

In the men’s singles, Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy will hope to regain some form before the World Championships. Lakshya, ranked 18, is the highest-ranked Indian shuttler in men’s singles but has struggled with consistency this season and his best performance was a quarter-final finish at the All England. He will open his campaign against local shuttler and fifth-seed Li Shi Feng.

Battling health issues this season, HS Prannoy has dropped to world number 35 and he will start his campaign against Koki Watanabe of Japan in the first round.

Three women shuttlers will be participating in the women’s singles with double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu leading the charge. Current world number 16, Sindhu has suffered multiple early exits this year with quarterfinal finish in the India Open being her best performance. Last week, she lost to Korea’s Sim Yu Jin, making it her fifth first-round exit of the year.

She will be opening her campaign against former youth world champion Tomoka Miyazaki, who has troubled Sindhu in past.

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Among others, Unnati Hood, faces Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmour in the first round, while Anupama Upadhyaya takes on Lin Hsiang Ti of Chinese Taipei.

In women’s doubles, Kavipriya Selvam-Simran Singhi, the Panda sisters Rutaparna and Swetaparna, and the pair of Amrutha Pramuthesh-Sonali Singh are in the fray, while Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde will compete in mixed doubles.

The China Open is the last major event before the World Championships, scheduled from August 25 to 31 in Paris, and all players will be hoping to register some wins to build confidence ahead of the prestigious tournament.