Sindhu, Srikanth & Sen to begin India Open 2022 campaign on Day 1

Saina Nehwal is also set to return to action on the inaugural day of the competition.

Day 1 of the India Open 2022 is all set to unfold on Tuesday, June 11, 2022. This is a super 500 event of the BWF World Tour with a total prize money of $400,000. It includes a lot of encounters to look forward. The tournament marks the return of international badminton to Indian soil after a gap of two years.

Men's Singles

In the Men’s singles the first seed and the silver medallist from the World Championship 2021, Srikanth Kidambi will be up against his compatriot Siril Verma. It looks like an easy ride for Kidambi up to the India Open 2022 semi-final where he is likely to face the reigning world champion Loh Kean Yew.

The top half of the draw will also witness the brothers Sourabh and Sameer Verma competing against each other. The winner of the match is likely to face Srikanth in the quarter-finals. It will also feature Subhankar Dey who will be up against Kim Bruun of Denmark .

The bottom half on the other hand is likely to see H.S Prannoy coming up against Pablo Abian of Spain. Then, Lakshya Sen, the reigning World Championship bronze medalist will be up against Egypt’s Adham Elgamal. Both Prannoy and Sen are likely to face each other in the quarter-finals.

The Indian challenge in the Men’s singles will also witness youngsters like Mithun Manjunath and Chirag Sen giving it their all. Experienced players like former World No.6 Parupalli Kashyap and Ajay Jayaram will also begin their campaign. Unfortunately, the second seed in the draw, Sai Praneeth had to pull out after testing positive for COVID-19.

Women's Singles

In the Indian Open 2022 women’s singles, PV Sindhu will be coming up against her fellow Indian Sri Krishna Kudaravalli. Saina Nehwal, the fourth seed and a former winner at this tournament who is on her comeback after missing out on most of 2021 due to injury. There is a great possibility of a Sindhu-Saina final yet again in the tournament. The draw also features Ashmita Chaliha, the left hander, who will be up against Russia’s Evgeniya Kosetskaya. Several young Indian shuttlers like Aakarshi Kashyap, Malvika Bansod and Rituparna Das will put up the challenge this year and aim to mark their name.

Like the men’s and women’s singles, the men’s doubles too has a majority of Indian shuttlers. The second seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will aim to finish on the top of the podium. Similarly, the pairs of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy and M.R Arjun and Dhruv Kapila will look to clinch their maiden super 500 title at the India Open 2022.

Doubles

In the India Open 2022 Women’s doubles category, Ashwini Ponappa and N Sikki Reddy will lead the charge . Another pair to look our for would be that of Tanisha Crasto and Rutuparna Panda. They made their appearance last year at the Uber Cup and no doubts they were impressive. They too will look win their first World Tour title as a pair.

Lastly, the mixed doubles features Sumeeth Reddy and Ashwini Ponappa who will play against the second seeds Rodion Alimov and Alina Daveltova of Russia. The mixed doubles draw like the other disciplines will have a variety of young Indian players who will play the India Open 2022.

The day will start at 1:30 PM IST in 11th January.

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