Shenzhen (China), Nov 18: India’s premier men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will make a highly-anticipated return to action at the China Masters Super 750 badminton tournament, starting here on Tuesday, following a disappointing Paris Olympics campaign.
The former world number one duo had been sidelined from competitive action post the Paris Olympics due to Satwik’s shoulder injury.
Their absence from the circuit led them to miss several high-profile tournaments, including the Arctic Open, Denmark Open, and China Open.
Fresh off a lengthy recovery, Satwik and his Asian Games gold medal-winning partner Chirag will aim to regain their momentum, despite having been without a coach since Mathias Boe’s departure in August.
Satwik and Chirag, who finished runner-up in the last editions, will start their campaign against Chinese Taipei’s Yang Po-Hsuan and Lee Jhe-Huei in the opening round.
Elsewhere, P V Sindhu and Lakshya Sen will look to overcome their recent struggles and aim for improved performances as they continue their quest for consistency and form.
Both the players, who took a long break after their campaign at the Paris Games ended in early August without a medal, have struggled to regain their best form since the Olympics.
Since his semifinal loss in Paris, Lakshya has endured early exits at the Arctic Open Super 500 and Denmark Open, and the trend continued last week, with the young shuttler making another first-round exit from the Kumamoto Masters Japan.
He will kick off his campaign against seventh-seeded Malaysian Lee Zii Jia.
The 23-year-old possesses the ability to beat any opponent, but his mental toughness has been questioned following his agonising near-miss at the Tokyo Olympics, where he slipped from a medal position in a heartbreaking loss.
Two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu bounced back from her shock opening-round loss to Canada’s Michelle Li in Finland, reaching the quarterfinals in Odense.
However, Li proved to be a hurdle once again, defeating Sindhu in the round of 16 last week.
The unseeded Indian begins her campaign against Thailand’s Supanida Katethong, whom she leads 5-4 on head-to-head record.
Also competing in the women’s singles event will be promising young talents Aakarshi Kashyap and Malvika Bansod.
Aakarsi will face Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan in her opener while Malvika will take on Line Højmark Kjaersfeldt in the first round.
The women’s doubles team of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, that made a first round exit from the Kumamoto Masters Japan, will also be in action. The Indian duo will square up against the second seeded Chinese combination of Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning.
B Sumeeth Reddy will partner Sikki Reddy in the mixed doubles event. (PTI)
