Badminton News: HS Prannoy will look to regain his lost form when he spearheads India's challenge at the 2024 Australian Open badminton tournament which begins on Tuesday in Sydney.
HS Prannoy, seeded fifth here, has not had the best results in the last two tournaments.
He was surprised by compatriot Meiraba Luwang Maisnam in the first round of the men's singles at the Thailand Open last month.
If that wasn't enough, HS Prannoy (WR10) lost to Kenta Nishimoto (WR11) 13-21, 21-14, 15-21 in the Singapore Open Round of 16 that lasted 45 minutes.
The Indian athlete will look to turn things around at the BWF Super 500 event in Sydney when he opens his campaign against Brazilian Ygor Coelho.
Sameer Verma will face Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo of Indonesia in the first round, while Ravi will face a tough opponent in eighth seed Loh Kean Yew of Singapore.
Other Indian players appearing in the men's singles are Mithun Manjunath, who will face Indonesia's Alwi Farhan, Kiran Geoge, who plays Xiaodong Sheng of Canada, and S Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian who plays top seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia.
In women's singles, eighth seed Aakarshi Kashyap will lead the Indian team.
She will face Ukrainian Polina Buhrova in the first round. Ashmita Chaliha will face Ines Lucia Castillo of Peru, Anupama Upadhyaya will take on Wong Ling Ching of Malaysia, Samiya Imad Farooqui will take on top seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan, while Keyura Mopati and Malvika Bansod will take part in the all-India contest.
No Indian players feature in the men's doubles, while seventh-seeded Panda sisters Rutuparna and Swetaparna and pair Harshita Rout and Sruti Swain will lead India in the women's doubles.
There are three Indian pairs in mixed doubles.
Eighth seeds B Sumeeth Reddy and Sikki Reddy will face Malaysian duo Wong Tien Ci and Lim Chiew Sien in their opening match, while Tarun Kona and Sri Krishna Priya Kudaravalli will face another Malaysian combination, Hoo Pang Ron and Cheng Su Yin.
India's third mixed doubles pair of Ayush Raj Gupta and Sruti Swain will take on Australian duo Jordan Yang and Sydney Tjonadi in the opening match.
Article tag: HS Prannoy, Australian Open 2024
