LUCKNOW, Nov 25: P V Sindhu and Lakshya Sen will aim to end their title droughts when they spearhead India’s challenge at the Syed Modi International Super 300 badminton tournament starting here on Tuesday.
Fresh off a semifinal finish in their comeback tournament post the Paris Olympics, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, the former world No. 1 doubles pair, enter as favourites in the men’s doubles category.
The 29-year-old Sindhu reached the final of the Malaysia Masters earlier this year but has struggled to find her peak form.
Lakshya, 23, showed promise with semifinal finishes at the All England Championship, French Open, and Paris Olympics, where he lost the bronze playoff from a strong position to Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia.
Both shuttlers have endured mixed fortunes since their Olympic outings.
Lakshya faced early exits at the Arctic Open, Denmark Open, and Kumamoto Masters before recovering to an extent with a quarterfinal finish at the China Masters, avenging his Olympic loss to Lee in the process.Lakshya starts his campaign here against a qualifier, hoping to reclaim his spot on the podium.Sindhu, meanwhile, has battled inconsistency, with a shock first-round loss to Canada’s Michelle Li in Finland and subsequent defeats at the Denmark Open and Kumamoto Masters.She opens her campaign against compatriot Anmol Kharb, a 17-year-old rising star who has impressed with titles at the Belgium and Poland International Challenge events this year.The clash between the seasoned Sindhu and the prodigious Kharb promises to be an intriguing one, symbolising the generational shift in Indian badminton. (PTI)
