Badminton News: While several Indian badminton players will be returning from a well-deserved break, PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth will be playing their fourth tournament in four weeks at the Yonex French Open 2023.
The Super 750 event will see the participation of some of the biggest names in the world of badminton. This tournament will be played in Rennes, France, from October 24 to 29.
Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu didn’t start the year well, with several early exits, but the Hyderabadi shuttler managed to turn things around since the Hangzhou Asian Games.
Sindhu has played brilliant badminton over the past month. The 28-year-old reached his third consecutive quarter-final and second consecutive semi-final at the Denmark Open last week, and fans are hoping that the Indian shuttler will make the final this time.
The new world number 1 pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will also be seen in action for the first time since their historic victory at the Asian Games. This pair had to withdraw at the Danish Open.
Apart from Sindhu, Satwik, Chirag and Srikanth, Lakshya Sen, Rutuparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda will also be seen in action at the French Open 2023.
In the men’s singles category, Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth will both face French opponents. Lakshya will face Arnaud Merkle, while former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth will take on Toma Junior Popov.
PV Sindhu will begin her campaign against Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in the women’s singles round of 16. Sindhu recently faced her Indonesian opponent in the pre-quarterfinals of the Denmark Open. The match last time out was close, with Sindhu eventually winning 18-21, 21-15, 21-13, but this result shows that the Indian shuttler will not have an easy start to the tournament.
India’s campaign in the doubles category will be led by Asian Games gold medalist duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. They will face Frenchmen Lucas Corvee and Ronan Labar in the first round, but have the potential to face a tough challenge in the form of experienced duo M. Ahsan and H. Setiawan in the next round.
The only other Indian doubles contestants are the Panda brothers. Rutuparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda will begin their campaign against China’s Li Yi Jing and Luo Xu Min on October 24.
Unfortunately, HS Prannoy will once again miss out on the action. The Indian shuttler who injured his back at the Asian Games announced his withdrawal from the tournament just before the Denmark Open, saying he would be out for at least 2-3 weeks to recover from the injury. Aakarshi Kashyap and Priyanshu Rajawat, who were earlier scheduled to participate in the tournament, have also withdrawn from the 2023 French Open.
Article Tag: Roland-Garros 2023, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, PV Sindhu
