The badminton caravan is in India for the second week of the new season, as the India Open Super 750 starts in frigid New Delhi from Tuesday with the hosts fielding their largest-ever contingent.
Headlining this Indian team will be the likes of PV Sindhu - starting her new season at home after her wedding in December, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty - last year's losing finalists hoping to go one better this time, Lakshya Sen - looking for his first win of the season along with bunch of young Indian players who'll get a chance to play the best at home, both via direct entry and some being promoted from reserves. The expectation will be that of a title, but it won't be an easy path for India's top stars.
The India Open has been upgraded to a Super 750 since 2023, which means it a mandatory event where all top players participate - and no Indians have won a title since 2022. This year, 16 and 13 of the Top 20 in men' and women's singles respectively will be action, making this an uber-competitive tournament despite a bunch of late withdrawals, such as that of defending champion and world No 1 Shi Yu Qi. The draws have not exactly made things easy, with tricky matches for Indians early on in New Delhi. But home advantage can be a huge factor and players will be looking to make the most of playing in front of cheering fans to set the tone for the year ahead.
Here's a look at the top Indians' draw and chances in New Delhi:
Men's Singles
Lakshya Sen, who was crushed in his season opener last week, will hope to get his bearings back in front of a home crowd that has always backed him vociferously. He starts against Lin Chun-Yi, who replaced eighth seed Antony Ginting's spot in the draw after his withdrawal. Lakshya trails 1-0 against Chun-Yi, but they haven't played each other for the last seven years. A win could see him take on Christo Popov, whom he leads 5-2.
If the cards land correctly, India Open could see another round of that very familiar Lakshya vs Prannoy match-up.
HS Prannoy, who last week showed sparks of his vintage fighting best returning from a five-month injury layoff, starts against Li Yang Su, who had beaten the Indian in their only encounter at last year's England Open. Last year, Prannoy was the last standing Indian in singles reaching the semifinals. This year though, it will be tricky with a potential second round against 2nd seed Jonatan Christie... and a possible quarterfinal against compatriot Lakshya.
Priyanshu Rajawat, who beat Lakshya last year before losing to Prannoy, also has a tough opener against 6th seed Kodai Naraoka.
This tournament will also see the return of Kidambi Srikanth, who got promoted from reserves late on Monday and will start his 2025 season. Former world no. 1 Srikanth, who was absent from the BWF Tour first due to injury and then his wedding, has fallen to 41 in the rankings and no longer makes a direct cut for the big tournaments. India Open thus will give him a shot at getting some crucial rankings points in a familiar setting. He begins his campaign against Chinese left-hander Hong Yang Weng, whom he leads 3-1 in their head-to-head. If the Indian wins, he will be up against 5th seed Li Shi Feng.
Also promoted from reserves is Kiran Goerge, who will play Yushi Tanaka in the first round.
Men's Doubles
Realistically, all eyes will be on Satwik-Chirag for an Indian title at the India Open. Satwik and Chirag reached the final last year, only to be tactically taken down by Seo Seungjae (a perpetual thorn in their side) and Kang MinHyuk. There was a repeat in the Malaysia Open semis last week, by Seo and new partner Kim Wonho.
In short, Satwik-Chirag will be fired up and that'll be a crucial ingredient given their draw.
The 7th seeds start against Wei Chong Man and Kai Wun Tee, whom they lead 3-0 in H2H, and could face fellow Indians K Sai Pratheek and Pruthvi K Roy in the second round. But it's the quarterfinal that will be a fascinating battle, potentially against Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen - now top seeds and the Indians' old rivals. The Danes are often involved in mental games- and even cheeky verbal volleys - against the Indians in the press, but were soundly beaten in the quarterfinals last year with Chirag calling out their on-court antics. If the draws hold, we could have another grudge match on our hands, this time with the Danes as the higher-ranked pair. They were stunned in the first round last week and will be fired up themselves.
P.S.: Seo is in the other half of the draw, as are defending champions and second seeds Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang and nemeses Aaron Chia and Soh Woo Yik.
Women's Singles
The headline act here is the return of Sindhu - newly-married and very motivated after taking a break to recover from the Olympics heartbreak and an indifferent season which ended with a Super 300 title at Syed Modi.
With another new coach - Indonesian coach Irwansyah Adi Pratama - this time as a group mentor, and a brand-new high-profile partnership with Puma, Sindhu said she has the fire and much more to achieve. She didn't play in Delhi last year on account of injury and will look to bank on the home support, which she enjoys plenty of, to kickstart a fresh season.
Sindhu begins against Sung Shuo Yun - who she leads 1-0 - after taking the place of withdrawn seed Busnan Ongbamrungphan and thereby getting a better draw than earlier. Gregoria Mariska Tunjung is the other seed in her quarter, which is the definition of tricky for the Indian. Sindhu has not been at her prime for a while now but she'll always be a contender given her calibre.
It'll be a tough road for the others, though. There will be an all-Indian clash in the opening round with Anupama Upadhyaya facing Rakshita Sree SR, who was promoted from reserves to Sindhu's spot. The winner will face Japan's rising star Tomoka Miyazaki. Fast-rising Malvika Bansod has been drawn against third seed Han Yue. While Malvika has made good progress, this will be a big test at home. Aakarshi Kashyap will face eighth-seeded Thai Pornpawee Chochuwong in the first round.
Women's Doubles
This is a stacked field for Indians with as many as nine pairs in the draw by virtue of it being at home. The seeded pairs are fifth-seeded team of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, who will face Japan's Arisa Igarashi and Ayako Sakuramoto in the first round and seventh seeds Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa, will take on compatriots Kavya Gupta and Radhika Sharma
Both seeded pairs have a relatively good chance to make a deep run at home in a women's doubles landscape that has seen some upheaval among top pairs. They didn't have the best of starts last week and will want to rectify that.
The other pairs are Rutuparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda, Mansa Rawat and Gayatri Rawat, Ashwini Bhat and Shikha Gautam, Sakshi Gahlawat and Apoorva Gahlawat, Sania Sikkandar and Rashmi Ganesh, Mrunmayee Deshpande and Prerana Alvekar, Amrutha Pramuthsh and Sonali Singh.
Mixed Doubles
Another stacked draw for India with Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, K. Sathish Kumar and Aadya Variyath, Rohan Kapoor and G Ruthvika Shivani, Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh, Tarun Kona and Sri Krishna Priya. There are no seeded Indians but this will be a good platform for some upset wins in home conditions.