Badminton News: The Japan Open Super 750 badminton tournament kicks off in Tokyo on Tuesday, featuring talented Indian duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who are fresh off a win at the Korea Open last week.
The Commonwealth Games-winning duo showed off their prowess by beating the world’s No. 1 duo in a hard-fought final, extending their winning streak to an impressive 10 matches.
After winning several titles this year, including the Swiss Open, Asian Championships and Indonesia Open, they have been in great form and are ranked third in the tournament. Their first round match will be against Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin from Indonesia.
However, the focus will also be on the difficulties of PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy. Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medalist and former world champion, has been in poor shape since undergoing rehabilitation for an injury.
Her ranking fell to 17th in the world and she faced a first-round exit in six of the 12 BWF World Tour events this year. Despite having a new top coach in the person of Muhammad Hafiz Hashim, Sindhu made mistakes and struggled to settle points even against lower ranked opponents.
He must practice his fast and attacking game to regain his competitive edge against his rivals. In the first round, she will face Zhang Yi Man, to whom she lost in the Malaysian Open quarterfinals earlier this year.
If Sindhu advances to the next round, she will likely face her nemesis, Tai Tzu Ying, who has beaten her nine times in a row in their last encounters. Tai Tzu Ying holds a dominating 19-5 win-loss record against Sindhu, making it a tough challenge for the Indian.
On the other hand, Prannoy, who recently won his maiden BWF World Tour title at the Malaysia Masters, remains India’s highest ranked player but fell two places to 10. He is ranked eighth in the tournament and will face unranked Chinese Li Shi Feng in his first round match.
When the Japan Open opens, badminton fans will be eager to see if Satwik-Chirag can continue their winning streak and if Sindhu and Prannoy can find their form to make an impact in the competition.
Kidambi Srikanth against Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei.
If they overcome their respective hurdles in the first round, Prannoy and Srikanth will meet in contention for the quarter-finals where either of them could face his toughest test yet, against top seed Viktor Axelsen.
The 2203 Japan Open tournament will also mark the return of youngster Lakshya Sen, who went on hiatus and missed the Korea Open after winning the Canada Open earlier this month.
Promising youngsters Priyanshu Rajawat and Sen faced off in an all-India opener.
If Sen manages to get past Rajawat, he could face a tough test from second seed Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia in the second round of the 2023 Japan Open.
Malavika Bansod will face local challenger Aya Ohori, while Aakarshi Kashyap will face top seed Akene Yamaguchi in the first round of women’s singles.
Among other Indian players, MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila will face No. 4 seeds Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia in men’s doubles.
In women’s doubles, Birmingham Commonwealth Games bronze medalists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will face local favorites Sayaka Hobara and Yui Suizu.
Article Tags: PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy, Japan Open 2023
