India Open 2023 badminton, live streaming: Challenging draw for Lakshya Sen, PV Sindhu

Indian men’s singles players Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy, have been handed a tough draw at the India Open 2023 badminton, which will be held at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall in New Delhi from January 17 to 22.

All three Indian players are in the half that includes reigning world and Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark, China’s Shi Yu Qi and Japan’s Kento Momota.

Lakshya Sen, the reigning Indian Open champion, will start his campaign against compatriot HS Prannoy and the winner of the match is likely to run into former world No. 1 Kento Momota of Japan.

Former champion Kidambi Srikanth has to overcome the challenge of top seed Axelsen in the opening round with a potential clash against China’s Shi Yu Qi, a former world championships silver medallist, if he advances.

With all three Indian badminton players in the same quarter, only one can make it past the quarter-finals.

In women’s singles, former world champion PV Sindhu faces Thailand’s Supanida Katethong, who had defeated the two-time Olympic medallist in last year’s semi-finals.

If she crosses the first hurdle, PV Sindhu may run into China’s Chen Yufei, the reigning Olympic champion, in the quarters.

Three other Indians will be in fray in women’s singles with Saina Nehwal starting against Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt. Upcoming stars Malvika Bansod and Aakarshi Kashyap have managed to avoid a top-10 opponent in the opening round.

Malvika Bansod, placed 30th in the badminton world rankings, will take on Thailand’s world No. 11 Busanan Ongbamrungphan while Kashyap, the world No. 32 faces former India Open champion and world No. 26 Beiwen Zhang of USA in the opening round.

In men’s doubles, fifth seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty start their campaign against Denmark’s Jeppe Bay and Lasse Molhede, ranked No. 31 in the world. The Indian duo, who made the Malaysia Open 2023 semi-finals, faces a potential quarter-final clash against top seeds Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi of Japan.

Among the other Indian pairs, world No. 21 MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila face sixth seeds Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen of Denmark in the opening round while Krishna Prasad G and Vishnuvardhan Goud P begin their campaign against the Netherlands’ Ruben Jille and Ties Van Der Lecq.

In women’s doubles, 2022 All England semi-finalists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will face France’s Margot Lambert and Anne Tran in the opening round while Ashwini Bhat K and Shikha Gautam begin their campaign against eighth seeds Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan of Malaysia.

India’s only entry in mixed doubles, Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Castro, will face the Netherlands’ Robin Tabeling and Selena Piek.

The India Open will be the second event on the 2023 BWF World Tour calendar and has been upgraded to the Super 750 category this year from its previous Super 500 status. The upgrade will see the top players around the world participate. Big names like Nozomi Okuhara, Carolina Marin, Akane Yamaguchi, Loh Kean Yew and Anthony Sinisuka Ginting will also be playing.

Where to watch India Open 2023 badminton live in India

Live streaming of the India Open 2023 will be available on JioCinema app and Badminton World Federation’s official YouTube channel BWF TV. India Open badminton will be telecast on the Eurosport TV channels in India.

Ind Open 2023 badminton: India squad

Men’s singles: HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth

Women’s singles: PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Malvika Bansod, Aakarshi Kashyap

Men’s doubles: Chirag Shetty/Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Krishna Prasad G/Vishnuvardhan Goud P

Women’s doubles: Shruti Mishra/N Sikki Reddy, Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand, Ashwini Bhat K/Shikha Gautam, Haritha Manazhiyil H/Ashna ROY

Mixed doubles: Ishaan Bhatnagar/Tanisha Crasto