Indian shuttlers are gearing up for a stern test at the USD 1,250,000 China Masters Super 750 badminton tournament getting underway in Shenzhen on Tuesday. Lakshya Sen, who faced a disappointing early exit at the World Championships, will spearhead the Indian challenge in the prestigious event. However, his campaign begins with a formidable hurdle as he squares off against France's world champion Alex Lanier in his opening fixture.
In the men's singles draw, Kidambi Srikanth will also be seen in action. Srikanth reached the final of the US Open Super 300 back in June, though his overall season has witnessed fluctuating fortunes. He had to withdraw from the Canada Open due to an injury and suffered a first-round exit at the Korea Masters as well.
Meanwhile, India's highest hopes in the men's doubles category rest on the fourth-seeded pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. The duo ended a two-year wait for an international title earlier this year by clinching the Singapore Open. They will kick off their campaign against the Chinese pair of Hu Ke Yuan and Lin Jiang Yi.
The women's singles section will feature three young Indian talents in Unnati Hooda, Tanvi Sharma, and Devika Sihag. Eighteen-year-old Rohtak-native Unnati Hooda has been drawn against fifth-seeded Han Yue of China. At the same time, Tanvi Sharma will face Denmark's Amalie Schulz, and Devika Sihag is set to play against Kaloyana Nalbantova of Bulgaria.
In other matches, the men's doubles partnership of Hariharan Amsakarunan and M R Arjun will take on the eighth-seeded Japanese pair of Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi, who are the 2021 world champions. In the mixed doubles events, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto will face the Thai pair of Tonkid and Tonrug Saeheng, while Rohan Kapoor and N. Sikki Reddy's compatriot partners Rohan Kapoor and Rutaparna Panda or rather Ruthvika Shivani Gadde will lock horns with Wu Guan Shun and Lee Chia Hsin of Chinese Taipei.
