BWF World Championships 2023: HS Prannoy, Srikanth handed tough draws, PV Sindhu gets bye in opening round

Published at :August 10, 2023 at 4:29 PM

Modified at :January 13, 2024 at 5:35 PM

(Courtesy : BAI/News9live)

The competition will take place in Denmark from August 21.

The official draw for BWF World Championships 2023 took place at the BWF (Badminton World Federation) headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia today. Several Indians received a bye in the opening round with a few having to start from the scratch. The draw was held online electronically via the tournament software rather than the old-fashioned ballot system.

India’s top ranked men’s singles shuttler HS Prannoy will take on Kalle Koljonen in the opening round and has a tough road ahead. If he progresses further, Prannoy will have a potential clash against 2021 World champion Loh Kean Yew in R16 and reigning Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen in the quarter-finals. Entering the semi-finals assures a player of at least winning a medal (bronze).

BREAKINGMen's Singles Draw – #BWC2023 BIG MATCH in the first round between Jojo and Lee Zii Jia! pic.twitter.com/nJxauyiXBJ
— Badminton Talk (@BadmintonTalk) August 10, 2023

BREAKINGMen's Doubles Draw – #BWC2023 pic.twitter.com/7pECpqtIIB
— Badminton Talk (@BadmintonTalk) August 10, 2023

On the other hand, India’s number two and WR-11 Lakshya Sen takes on Georges Julien Paul in the opener while Kidambi Srikanth faces a stern test meeting Kenta Nishimoto in the opening round. Srikanth might face number two seed Antony Sinisuka Ginting in R16 and top 10 shuttler Jonatan Christie in the quarter-finals if he wins the subsequent rounds.

BREAKINGWomen's Singles Draw – #BWC2023 pic.twitter.com/pJW5hbV94M
— Badminton Talk (@BadmintonTalk) August 10, 2023

BREAKINGWomen's Doubles Draw – #BWC2023 pic.twitter.com/W8bChwmZ3R
— Badminton Talk (@BadmintonTalk) August 10, 2023

Two-time Olympic medalist and 16th seed PV Sindhu received a bye in the opening round of women’s singles. In the further rounds, she might face Thailand’s seventh seed Ratchanok Intanon in R16 and current WR-1 An Se Young in the quarter-finals. 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Saina Nehwal withdrew from the competition due to injuries.

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Asian champions and second seed Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are placed in the bottom half of the draw and receive a bye. Their first major test will be against Daniel Marthin and Leo Carnando in the third round whom they met recently at the Japan Open few weeks back.

Young pair of Rohan Kapoor and Sikki Reddy take on Scotland’s Adam Hall and Julie Macpherson in the opening round of mixed doubles. This is also the their maiden World Championships as a pair.

BREAKINGMixed Doubles Draw – #BWC2023 pic.twitter.com/AsaO3B0q3E
— Badminton Talk (@BadmintonTalk) August 10, 2023

Indian players at BWF World Championships 2023

Men’s Singles: HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen, and Kidambi Srikanth

Women’s Singles: PV Sindhu

Men’s Doubles: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty and MR Arjun/Dhruv Kapila

Women’s Doubles: Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand and Ashwini Bhat K/Shikha Gautam

Mixed Doubles: Rohan Kapoor/Sikki Reddy and Venkat Prasad/Juhi Dewangan

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