Indian shuttlers gear up for the Australian Open – PV Sindhu aims for lost form, while Lakshya Sena dn HS Prannoy search for second title

Indian shuttlers will be in action at the Australian Open Super 500 in Sydney as veterans like PV Sindhu and Srikanth Kidambi will aim to regain their lost form. Meanwhile, Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy will hunt for their second title of the season.

The Indian shuttlers will look to give a good account of themselves in this event as they this will be their last opportunity to improve before the World Championships. The World Championships will start on August 21 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

It has been a tough ride back to the top for PV Sindhu who is currently world no.17th and is seeded fifth in this tournament. She will be looking to play with more conviction as she has not looked like herself after returning from injury earlier this year. Her best result this season remains the runner-up finish at the Madrid Masters where she lost out against Gregoria Marishka Tungjung in the final.

She has struggled with her wavering form and hence she was knocked out in the first round of the Korea and Japan Open. She suffered seven first-round exits in 13 BWF World Title events this year. The double Olympic medallist will hope that she can work in tandem with her new coach Muhammad Hafiz Hashim and return back to her best form.

HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen and the men’s doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have been the most consistent Indian shuttlers on tour this year. However, with Satwik and Chirag pulling out of the event, Indians will turn towards Sen, who won the Canadian Open earlier this year and Prannoy to show their magic in Australia and probably win the title.

Prannoy is currently the highest-ranked Indian men’s singles player at World No.9. He has reached three quarterfinals this year besides winning the Malaysia Super 500 Masters. Prannoy gave a tough fight to World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen but sadly couldn’t close out the game. Similarly, Sen also fought hard against Jonatan Christie in the Japan Open semifinals but unfortunately couldn’t take the next step. They will hope to turn it around in Australia.

Srikanth Kidambi will also search for some form and will have to soak in his errors when he takes on Kenta Nishimoto. While youngster Priyanshu Rajawat who won the Orleans Masters will start his campaign against Australia’s Nathan Tang. Rajawat has impressed this season but he will look to add more composure and consistency to his game. Meanwhile national champion Mithun Manjunath will start his campaign against Low Kean Yew of Singapore.

In women’s doubles, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will also hope that they bounce back strongly. Their last notable performance was a semifinal finish at the All-England Open. They will aim to do well and go deep in the Australian Open.