PV Sindhu set to take on Ashmita Chaliha in quarters of India Open 2022

Lakshya Sen will go head-to-head against HS Prannoy in another blockbuster clash in the tournament on Friday.

Day 3 of the India Open 2022 started with sad news for the Indian badminton fanatics. A total of seven shuttlers had to withdraw from the tournament after testing positive for COVID-19. Among the players who had to withdraw were the likes of Srikanth Kidambi, Ashwini Ponappa among many others.

But, the tournament will continue as the remaining shuttlers take centre stage. The tournament's entering its business end with the quarter-finals beginning on Friday.

Here is what to expect on Day 4 of the India Open 2022.

Men's Singles

After top seed Srikanth's withdrawal, all eyes will be on Lakshya Sen win to the gold at the India Open 2022. The youngster will go up against his compatriot HS Prannoy.

Prannoy received a walkover after his opponent from the last round Mithun Manjunath tested positive for the virus. So, the veteran shuttler will be fresh heading into this encounter. On the other hand, Sen has looked in fine flow with his dominant wins over Egypt's Adham Hatem Elgamal and Sweden's Felix Burestedt. He will look to continue his run, as he aims for a spot on the podium.

Women's Singles

India's heartthrob PV Sindhu will start the day at the India Open 2022 as she takes on in-form Ashmita Chaliha. The Guwahati based shuttler produced a great upset by defeating fifth seed Evgeniya Kosetskaya of Russia. The 22-year-old then followed it up with another convincing win over French shuttler Yaelle Hoyaux.

The best fact about Chaliha is that she has not dropped a game in these two tough encounters. Therefore, her fight against double Olympic medalist PV Sindhu will be interesting to see.

Another upset at the India Open 2022 happened on Thursday when another young shuttler Malvika Bansod got the better of Saina Nehwal. Bansod defeated Samiya Farooqui in the first round and then backed herself to reign supreme against former champion Saina Nehwal in straight games 21-17, 21-9.

She will go up against compatriot Akarshi Kashyap. The 2019 South Asian Games Gold medalist has had a smooth ride in the tournament till now with wins over Anura Prabhudesai and Keyura Mopati. Both are very talented youngsters and it will be a great spectacle to see them fight it out at the India Open.

Men's Doubles & Mixed Doubles

India's biggest hope in the men's doubles category has to be the star duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. The second seed pairing in men's doubles will be taking on the Singaporean pair of Hee Yong Kai Terry and Loh Kean Hean. The star Indian pairing has been at their dominant best till now and will look to continue in the same manner against the Singaporeans.

In mixed doubles, Aswini K. Bhat and Nithin HV will look to continue their great run at the India Open 2022. They will go up against the pairing of Hee Yong Kai Terry and Tai Wei Han from Singapore. Ashwini Bhat will be very busy as she will turn up in the women's doubles as well, where she will pair up with Shikha Gautam. They are the eighth seed in the India Open and they will face the Russian duo of Ekaterina Malkova and Anastasiia Shapovalova.

Lastly, there will be eyes on the mixed doubles pairing of Venkat Gaurav Prasad and Juhi Dewangan. The Indian pairing will have a tough test, as they will go up against the Malaysian duo of Chen Tang Jie and PeckYen Wei. The Malaysians are the third seeds in the India Open 2022 and it will be an uphill task for the Indian mixed doubles pairing.

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