New Delhi, Jan 7 (NationPress) Former champion Lakshya Sen is set for an intense all-Indian showdown against the rising star Ayush Shetty, while PV Sindhu, a former world champion, will take on Vietnam’s Thuy Linh Nguyen in the opening round of the India Open Super 750 badminton tournament, scheduled at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium from January 13-18.

This prestigious event, part of the HSBC BWF World Tour, is moving from the KD Jadhav Indoor Stadium to a larger multi-purpose hall within the Indira Gandhi Stadium Complex.

Players will have the chance to acclimatize, as this venue will also host the BWF World Championships later this year in August.

For the Indian team, the opening round is anything but easy. Lakshya’s match against former world junior bronze medallist Ayush Shetty means that only three out of four Indian men’s singles players will progress to the second round. The winner of this clash will likely face the fourth seed Chou Tien Chen from Chinese Taipei or Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto.

In other matches, the former world number one Kidambi Srikanth is set to compete against Lin Chun-Yi, a bronze medallist at the 2024 Taipei Thomas Cup and currently ranked 12th globally. If successful, he could meet Christo Popov, who recently made history as the first French player to win the BWF World Tour Finals men’s singles title.

H S Prannoy, who entered the main draw following the withdrawal of Denmark’s Anders Antonsen, will kick off his campaign against Lee Cheuk Yiu, the Hong Kong finalist from the last edition.

In the women’s singles, Sindhu faces Nguyen, against whom she has suffered defeats in their last two meetings. Ranked 22nd globally, Nguyen is one of the most improved players from last year. Should Sindhu advance, she may encounter second seed Wang Zhi Yi or her compatriot Gao Fang Jie in the next round.

Malvika Bansod, making her return after a lengthy injury layoff and participating with a protected ranking, will commence against Pai Yu Po from Chinese Taipei.

In the doubles category, former champions Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy have drawn a relatively manageable opener against the USA’s Chen Zhi Yi and Presley Smith. Their first significant challenge could arise in the quarter-finals against Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi from China, who are seeded eighth.

Two-time All-England semifinalists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will compete against Ornnicha Jongsathapornparn and Sukitta Suwachai from Thailand, with a potential second-round match against the seventh seeds from China, Li Yi Jing and Luo Xu Min.

In another intriguing opening-round match, top seed An Se Young will meet former world champion Nozomi Okuhara, while third seed Akane Yamaguchi will face her compatriot Riko Gunji.