Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty Return To Action In BWF World Tour

India's premier men's doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will make their highly-anticipated return to competitive badminton at the China Masters Super 750 tournament, starting in Shenzen on Tuesday.

The duo, who finished runner-up in the last editions of major tournaments, had been sidelined from action after Rankireddy suffered a shoulder injury post the Paris Olympics. This led to them missing several high-profile tournaments, including the Arctic Open, Denmark Open, and China Open.

Satwik and his partner Chirag have now returned fresh off a lengthy recovery and will aim to regain their momentum in their opening round match against Chinese Taipei's Yang Po-Hsuan and Lee Jhe-Huei. Despite having been without a coach since Mathias Boe's departure in August, they are expected to give a strong performance.

On the other hand, P V Sindhu and Lakshya Sen will look to overcome their recent struggles and aim for improved form in the women's singles event. Both players took a long break after their campaign at the Paris Games ended in early August without a medal, and have struggled to regain their best form since then.

Sindhu bounced back from her shock opening-round loss to Canada's Michelle Li in Finland, reaching the quarterfinals in Odense, but was defeated by Li again last week. She will begin her campaign against Thailand's Supanida Katethong, whom she leads 5-4 on head-to-head record.

Lakshya Sen has endured early exits at several tournaments since his semifinal loss in Paris and another first-round exit from the Kumamoto Masters Japan last weekend. He will kick off his campaign against seventh-seeded Malaysian Lee Zii Jia.

Other notable players competing in the China Masters include Aakarshi Kashyap, Malvika Bansod, and Treesa Jolly, who will face Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan and Line Højmark Kjaersfeldt respectively in their opening matches. The Indian women's doubles team of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will also be in action.

In the mixed doubles event, B Sumeeth Reddy and Sikki Reddy will pair up to compete against teams from around the world.

Location: Shenzen (China)

First Published: November 18, 2024, 13:59 IST