India has fielded its biggest contingent in the star-studded India Open Super 750 tournament starting on Tuesday but eyes will be on some familiar names, especially the consistently good performers Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. Indian players have not got success in this tournament for the last two seasons. India’s 21-member contingent will aim to make up for this deficiency and correct its mistakes after its poor performance at the Paris Olympics six months ago.
India have high expectations from Satwik and Chirag as the former world number one men’s doubles team won the 2022 India Open and made a good start to the 2025 season by reaching the semi-finals of the Malaysia Open Super 1000 tournament last week. 18 of the world’s top 20 men’s singles players and 14 top players in women’s singles are participating in the tournament. Despite the disappointment of the Paris Olympics, Chirag and Satwik have been India’s most reliable players in the last two years.
Satwik and Chirag, who have played the China Masters 2024 semi-finals, will face Wei Chong Man and Kei Wun Tee of Malaysia in the first round. They will face stiff competition from China’s Olympic silver medalists Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang, Paris Olympics bronze medalists Aaron Chia and Soh Wui Yik of Malaysia, Denmark’s Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen and Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto. This year, 21 entries have been received from India which includes two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu.
Sindhu is making a comeback after missing the Malaysia Masters due to her marriage. 29 year old Sindhu from Hyderabad had won the Syed Modi International title but mostly only Indian players played in it. Sindhu will face Anupama Upadhyay in the first round. She may next play Japan’s Tomoka Miyazaki, who defeated her in the Swiss Open last year. Syed Modi title winner Lakshya Sen was eliminated in the opening round in Malaysia. Lakshya, who had won the title here three years ago, will face China’s Hong Yang Weng in the first round.
H S Prannoy, who took a five-month break after his Paris Olympics pre-quarterfinal exit, had crashed out in the second round in Malaysia. Here in the first round he will face Li Yang Hsu of Chinese Taipei. If he wins this, he may face competition from Jonathan Christie of Indonesia. The tournament, to be held at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall at the Indira Gandhi Stadium, features stalwarts like Olympic champion Victor Axelsen, An Si Young and world number one Shi Yuqi.
Among Indians, Priyanshu Rajawat will face sixth seed Kodai Naraoka of Japan in the first round while Malvika Bansod will face third seed Yui Han of China. Akarshi Kashyap will face eighth seed Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand. In the women’s doubles, India’s Trisa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will face Japan’s Arisa Igarashi and Ayako Sakuramoto. Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa will face Britain’s Chole Kone and Estelle Van Leeuwen.