India’s badminton stars PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen are poised to lead the Indian contingent at the Arctic Open Super 500, a tournament that marks their return to the international stage following a medal-less outing at the Paris Olympics. Both players are determined to reclaim their momentum, having taken the time to reassess their performances and implement changes to their game plans.
Sindhu, a double Olympic medalist, has made significant coaching changes, bringing in Anup Sridhar and Korean legend Lee Syun Il to guide her. She’ll face a familiar rival, Michelle Li of Canada, in the opening round. A potential second-round matchup with the 2022 junior world champion, Tomako Miyazaki of Japan, adds an extra layer of intrigue. Sindhu previously lost to Miyazaki at the Swiss Open earlier this year.
Sen, who narrowly missed a medal in Paris, spent time training at the Red Bull Arena in Austria to improve his physical fitness. He’ll face a tough opponent in Rasmus Gemke of Denmark in the opening round, a player who defeated him at the India Open in 2023. If Sen prevails, he could potentially face Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei, the seventh seed.
The tournament also marks the return of Kidambi Srikanth, who will compete in the qualifiers after a four-month injury layoff. He faces a tough matchup against his compatriot, Kiran George. Meanwhile, Sathish Kumar Karunakaran will battle against France’s Arnaud Merkle.
In women’s singles, Malvika Bansod, who reached the quarterfinals at the China Open Super 1000, will face Sung Shuo Yun of Chinese Taipei, while Aakarshi Kashyap will take on Germany’s Yvonne Li. The promising Unnati Hooda, winner of the 2022 Odisha Masters, will compete in the qualifiers against Heli Neiman of Israel.
India will be represented in women’s doubles by Rituparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda, and in mixed doubles by Sathish and Aadya Variyath. The Arctic Open promises to be a thrilling event, with the Indian contingent looking to make their mark on the international badminton scene.
