No easy starts for Indian shuttlers at India Open

NEW DELHI: Indian shuttlers were handed a tricky opening round ground draw as Lakshya Sen was pitted against fellow Indian and rising youngster Ayush Shetty, while 2019 world champion PV Sindhu faces a stern test against Vietnam’s Thuy Linh Nguyen in the opening round of the Yonex-Sunrise India Open Super 750, scheduled from Jan 13 to 18 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here.The winner between Lakshya and Ayush will likely face fourth seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei or Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto next.Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth faces a tough opener against world No. 12 Lin Chun-Yi of Chinese Taipei. A win could see him meet Christo Popov, the recent BWF World Tour Finals champion. HS Prannoy will start against last year’s finalist Lee Cheuk Yiu.In women’s singles, PV Sindhu will seek redemption against Vietnam’s Thuy Linh Nguyen. Sindhu has lost her last two meetings with the world No. 22. If Sindhu manages to win, a clash against China’s Wang Zhiyi or Gao Fangjie could follow. Malvika Bansod, returning from injury, faces Pai Yu Po of Chinese Taipei.In doubles, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have a comfortable opener against USA’s Chen Zhi Yi and Presley Smith, though tougher quarterfinal test potentially against eighth seeds Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi looms. Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand begin against Thailand’s Ornnicha Jongsathapornparn and Sukitta Suwachai.