The Indonesia Open Super 1000, starting Tuesday, is the last major and mandatory badminton competition before the Paris Olympics next month.
While results on the grinding, weekly BWF Tour may not always be an accurate marker for top players, the performance here will go some way in determining form and confidence levels of the medal contenders.
From an Indian perspective, the Super 1000 tournament assumes even more significance given the overall disappointing show at last week's Singapore Open 750 from India's Olympic-bound players.
PV Sindhu lost from a winning position against Carolina Marin, Lakshya Sen couldn't withstand Viktor Axelsen's level, HS Prannoy's early exits continued while Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto lost to a lower-ranked Ukrainian pair.
Already there was a big blow to India's chances as defending champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who were stunned in the first round last week, withdrew from their title defence in Indonesia. Not only does this suggest an injury to one of them close to the Olympics, it will also affect their world rank as they had won the title last year.
Meanwhile, India's Olympic-bound players will look for a big run before the final leg of preparations begin. There will be questions to answer, match-up problems to solve, and confidence to build in Jakarta.
Can Sindhu beat the close decider bogey?
As the Olympics draw closer, one big question on a lot of badminton followers' mind will be - can Sindhu, who is going for a third straight medal, level up at the big-ticket tournament like she always does?
Currently, Sindhu is struggling to close out tense matches even from advantageous positions.
Two weeks ago, she reached the final of the Malaysia Masters Super 500 in an encouraging display. But she lost the final after squandering a massive 11-3 lead in the third game against China's Wang Zhi Yi.
Last week, she lost a tight battle against world No 3 and old foe Carolina Marin, after leading 7-2 and 15-10 in the decider.
Such meltdowns in crucial moments are a troublesome trend. It shows the kind of pressure there is on her, after coming back from a couple of injury layoffs and having to rebuild, and also the level of challenge she has to overcome.
The draw in Jakarta hasn't made this easy, with another potential second-round meeting with Marin slated should both win their openers. Sindhu starts against Wen Chi Hsu from Chinese Taipei, against whom she has a 3-0 head-to-head record. She will hope to learn from her mistakes last week and end her losing streak against the Spaniard, should she get the chance.
Also in women's singles, Aakarshi Kashyap has been promoted from reserves and will play former world champion Ratchanok Intanon.
Where do Prannoy, Lakshya stand?
As things stand, India No 1 HS Prannoy is out of form and likely not 100% fit either. He has fallen out of the Top 8, which means he won't be seeded at tournaments, after a spate of early exits this year.
The veteran, who qualified for his first Olympics after a breakthrough 2023, is dealing with a resurgence of his gastric issues which had plagued him in the past. He has already slotted a month of training and recovery in Hyderabad later in June, after playing two more competitions.
For now, though, he has to rediscover his fitness and fight to fuel his gruelling game for a deep run. In Indonesia, he starts against compatriot Priyanshu Rajawat, who he leads 3-0. However, Prannoy did lose to the 21-year-old Indian BWF Tour debutant Meiraba Luwang Maisnam at the Thailand Open, and Priyanshu will fancy his chances here.
A win for either Indian will likely mean a clash with reigning world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn or former world champion Loh Kean Yew. It's the kind of battle Prannoy needs before the Olympics, and the hope is that he stays in the competition for it.
For Lakshya, who rediscovered his form a few months ago with back-to-back big semifinals, this Super 1000 offers a better draw than last week where he went down fighting to world No 1 Axelsen.
He starts against Japan's Kanta Tsuneyama, who he leads 3-0, and a win could mean a clash with seventh seed Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, who he also lead 3-0. The top quarter doesn't have Axelsen (injury) and will be replaced by compatriot Anders Antonsen, whom the Indian beat at All England in March.
In short, this is a good week for Lakshya to make another deep run at a big event in 2024.
What is the Indians interest in doubles without Sat-Chi?
There is enough. Olympic-bound Tanisha-Ashwini will want to bounce back after a first-round exit to the Ukrainian pair of Polina Buhrova and Yevheniia Kantemyr. They start against the Canadian pair of Jackie Dent and Crystal Lai and have the second seeds Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee waiting for them in the second should they win.
Last week, Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly had a resurgent run beating the world No 2 and world No 6 pair to reach the semifinals of the Singapore Open. They take on take on Cheng Yu-Pei and Sun Yu Hsing of Chinese Taipei and will want to build on that momentum, even if they don't have the Olympics to prepare for.
Also in the doubles draw are the Panda sisters, Rutaparna and Swetaparna, the husband-wife pair of veterans B Sumeeth Reddy and Sikki Reddy.