Top Indian shuttlers, including double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, will hope to find their rhythm as they begin their campaign in the main draw of the Asia Badminton Championships (ABC) on Wednesday.
The 40th edition of the prestigious continental competition started here on Tuesday with the qualifying rounds, while the main draw, comprising all the top players, will happen only from Wednesday.
It will be a tough task for India to return with a medal, considering most of the top players have been struggling with form this season.
India have so far won 17 medals at ABC, with Dinesh Khanna claiming the lone gold in 1965 and the likes of Sindhu, HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen will have to really play out of their skins to break the title drought.
On a comeback trail after a long injury lay-off, Sindhu showed some spark when she reached the finals of the Madrid Spain Masters and the 8th-seeded Indian will hope to find her ‘A’ game when she begins her campaign against Taiwanese Wen Chi-hsu.
In the men’s singles, world No. 9 Prannoy has been consistent and he will look to gear up for the bigger battles with a good show in the opening round against Phone Pyae Naing of Myanmar, while 2021 world championships silver medallist Kidambi Srikanth will take on Bahrain’s Adnan Ebrahim.
Former world No. 6 Sen has endured a difficult 2023 as his ranking plummeted after a series of early exits, forcing the Indian to take a break.
Sen has a tough road ahead with former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore standing in his way in the opening round.
PTI
