India’s biggest ever contingent led by Lakshya Sen and PV Sindhu will participate in the Yonex-Sunrise India Open Super 750 badminton tournament starting here from January 14. 21 players from India will participate along with top stars like Olympic champion Victor Axelsen, Ann Se Young and world number one Shi Yuqi. In this, three pairs will challenge in men’s singles, four in women’s singles, two in men’s doubles, eight in women’s doubles and four in mixed doubles.
A prize pool of nine and a half lakh dollars (about Rs 8.15 crore) and 11,000 ranking points will be at stake for the champions in this tournament, to be held at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall of Indira Gandhi Stadium. “Having so many Indian players competing in the Super 750 event is a symbol of the growth and advancement of Indian badminton on the world stage,” Badminton Association of India Secretary General Sanjay Mishra said in a release here.
“This is just the beginning,” he said. This year, along with our established players, new names will also add shine to Indian badminton.” This tournament was upgraded to Super 750 category in 2023. 14 players from India had participated in its last two seasons. In the previous edition of the tournament, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy had reached the men’s doubles final while HS Prannoy had reached the men’s singles semi-final in 2024.
Chirag and Satwik, who reached the semi-finals of China Masters 2024, will once again be strong contenders for the title in men’s doubles. Satwik, who is returning from injury, will try to regain his rhythm after the Paris Olympics. Apart from Satwik-Chirag, India’s hopes will also rest on former champion Lakshya Sen and two-time Olympic medalist Sindhu.
18 of the world’s top-20 men’s singles badminton players and 14 of the top-20 women’s singles badminton players will participate in this competition. The men’s doubles pairs include Olympic silver medalists Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang of China and Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto of Indonesia. List of Indian players participating in the Yonex-Sunrise India Open Super 750 Badminton Tournament.
