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India Open 2025: Satwik-Chirag steer India’s hopes as country sends biggest contingent

India Open 2025: Satwik-Chirag steer India’s hopes as country sends biggest contingent

India Open 2025 kicks off with 21 Indian players, including PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, and Satwik-Chirag, aiming for a podium finish despite tough competition.

The much-awaited India Open Super 750 tournament is beginning on Tuesday and India is ready to give their best with the biggest contingent ever. Indian team is large and the spotlight will be on PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen and the magical duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. Despite being big names, all these players are currently struggling with good form. This tournament could be proved a better one for them with the hope of support and fans. India Open has seen some less podium finishes over the years, as the tournament hasn’t seen Indian players win recently, with no titles going to the host nation in the last two editions.

Expectations from Satwik and Chirag

Expectations are high for Satwik and Chirag, who won the doubles title in 2022. That same year India’s singles star Lakshya Sen, secured the men’s singles title. In this tournament, most of the world’s top players, including 18 of the top-20 men and 14 of the top-20 women, will compete, so it si going to be a tough one for all the players.

“The shoulder injury has been on and off. But I also had a back injury after the Paris Olympics which took time to recover from. But now I am fine and have no problems,” said Satwik. “The last time we came here was after playing the final of the Malaysia Open and reached the final here. This time also we have started (the year) with a semi-final in Malaysia and want to improve on last year’s results,” he added.

Former world number ones Satwik and Chirag made a good start to the season by reaching the semifinals of the Malaysia Super 1000 tournament last week. Despite a setback at the Paris Games, they have been India’s most reliable performers, often reaching the tournament’s latter stages. They aim to continue this success at the USD 950,000 event held at KD Jadhav Indoor Stadium.

PV Sindhu returns to competition

After a modest 2024, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu returns to action; she missed the Kuala Lumpur opener due to her wedding. She will begin her campaign against Anupama Upadhyaya and could face Japan’s rising star Tomoka Miyazaki in the second round.

Lakshya Sen, who proved himself the best among all the Indian players in the Paris Olympics 2024, aims to replicate his 2022 success in the tournament. Buoyed by a Syed Modi title and a third-place finish at the King’s Cup, he faces a challenging opening match against China’s Hong Yang Weng.

Veteran HS Prannoy’s comeback

HS Prannoy is back after a five-month break post a disappointing Paris Olympics exit. Having shown glimpses of his old form recently, he will look to continue building momentum when he faces Li Yang Su from Chinese Taipei in the first round. The tournament features top players like Olympic champions Viktor Axelsen (men) and An Se Young (women) and world No. 1 Shi Yuqi. Competing on home turf, however, may give Indians an edge in tight situations.

Young stars to keep an eye on

Several young Indian talents are eager to make their mark. Priyanshu Rajawat faces sixth-seeded Kodai Naraoka from Japan. Meanwhile, Malvika Bansod and Aakarshi Kashyap have tough challenges ahead against top-seeded international opponents.

In women’s doubles, the fifth-seeded team of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand and the Guwahati Masters-winning duo of Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa will lead India’s hopes. They face strong competition from international pairs in their opening matches.

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