Kidambi Srikanth, Loh Kean Yew drawn in same half

New Delhi: Comeback man Kidambi Srikanth might clash with Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew in a rematch of their World Championships final after being drawn in the same half, while PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen received easy draws in the Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2022 to be held from January 11 to 16. Top seed Srikanth, who […]

New Delhi: Comeback man Kidambi Srikanth might clash with Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew in a rematch of their World Championships final after being drawn in the same half, while PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen received easy draws in the Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2022 to be held from January 11 to 16.

Top seed Srikanth, who regained his place in world’s top-10, will open his campaign against compatriot Siril Verma and is likely to get another chance to avenge his loss against World champion Loh Kean Yew as they are drawn to clash in the semifinals.

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Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, seeded top, will hope to lay claim on her first title of the new year when she begins her campaign against compatriot Sri Krishna Priya Kudaravalli. The 26-year-old could face Russian fifth seed Evgeniya Kosetskaya in the last-8 stage. Fans would be hoping for the marquee all-India summit clash between Sindhu and the former World No. 1 Saina Nehwal, who has also received a relatively tough draw. The London Olympics bronze medallist and fourth seed Nehwal, who endured a tough year plagued with multiple injuries, is likely to square off against seventh seed Iris Wang of USA in the quarterfinals and second seed Busanan Ongbamrungphan in the semifinals.

Organised by the Badminton Association of India (BAI), the $400,000 Super 500 event will kickstart the 2022 BWF World Tour season. In-form Sen, who claimed a maiden bronze at the World Championships, will start his campaign against Adham Elgamal of Egypt and could face compatriot and World Championships quarterfinalist HS Prannoy in the quarterfinals.

Second seed B Sai Praneeth, who also had a tough 2021, would also be looking to start the year on a high as he opens against Spain’s Luis Penalver in the opening round. He could face Indonesia’s Tommy Sugiarto in the quarterfinals. Sixth seed Sameer Verma, who had suffered a calf muscle injury in Denmark, will also look to go deep into the draw after starting his campaign against his elder brother Sourabh.

India’s top men’s pairing of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, seeded second, will open against compatriot Ravi and Chirag Arora and are likely to meet fourth seeded pair of Ben Lane and Sean Vendy from England in the Last-4 stage.

In women’s doubles, second seeded pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy will have an easy route to the quarterfinals. However, playing along with B Sumith Reddy, Ponnappa will face a tough challenge in the mixed doubles as they will be up against second seeded Russian duo of Rodion Alimov and Alina Davletova in their opening round match.

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