Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty (Credit: X)
French Open champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will look to proceed their good type as they head to the All England Championships.
Newly-crowned French Open champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty shall be anticipated to proceed their wealthy vein of type, whereas the seasoned P V Sindhu will hope to ace a trial by hearth to finish India’s 23-yr-previous title drought on the All England Championships beginning right here on Tuesday.
Prakash Padukone (1980) and Pullela Gopichand (2001) are the one ones from India to have claimed the title with Saina Nehwal (2015) and Lakshya Sen (2022) coming shut after they completed runner-ups.
The prestigious event holds an iconic standing in India however through the years, its exclusivity has considerably dwindled as it’s now one of the 4 Super 1000 occasion on the worldwide calendar.
Satwik and Chirag have already received a Super 1000 title in Indonesia final yr and given their stellar run this season, expectations could be excessive when the 2 towering shuttlers take the court docket this week, following their exploits at Paris on Sunday night time.
Satwik and Chirag, the Asian Games champions, have bossed their opponents this season, reaching three finals — Malaysia Super 1000, and India Super 750 earlier than profitable at Paris — and can stay India’s largest hopes of a title end on the Utilita Arena Birmingham right here.
Standing in entrance of them in the opening spherical would be the veteran Indonesian pair of Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan, the three-time world champions. They have brought on loads of heartbreaks for the Indians in the previous.
The ‘Daddies’ had defeated Satwik and Chirag the final time they confronted in the French Open final yr and the Indians shall be eyeing revenge.
If they cross the opening hurdle, the Indian duo is prone to face the Malaysian pair of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik. The Malaysians are formidable foes however Satwik and Chirag have defeated them thrice in the final three conferences.
Sindhu can even face an acid take a look at this week with world no. 1 and high seed Korean An Se Young lined up in the second spherical is the Indian tames Germany’s Yvonne Li, in opposition to whom she has a 2-0 document.
Sindhu has proven that she has recovered effectively from the left knee damage that left her on the sidelines for 4 months earlier than her marketing campaign in the French Open final week.
With the legendary Padukone by her facet, Sindhu matched Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei earlier than marginally falling quick in the quarterfinals in Paris.
The 68-yr-previous Padukone can even be a continuing supply of inspiration for Lakshya Sen, who acquired an enormous enhance in his race for Olympic qualification with a semifinal end on the French Open final week.
Sen shall be up in opposition to Malaysia’s Ng Tze Yong with a probable conflict in opposition to fourth seeded Dane Anders Antonsen awaiting him in the second spherical.
World no. 7 HS Prannoy, who made the semifinal of the India Open in January however bowed out of French Open in the primary spherical final week, will hope to go deep in the draw after opening in opposition to Chinese Taipei’s Su Li Yang.
Kidambi Srikanth, who’s racing in opposition to time to make the reduce for Paris, nonetheless, should play out of his pores and skin as he faces high seed and world no 1 Viktor Axelsen in the opening spherical, whereas the younger Priyanshu Rajawat should combat it out in opposition to Indonesia’s Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo.
The girls’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, which has achieved effectively in Birmingham having reached again-to-again semifinals in the final two years, will open in opposition to the Indonesian mixture of Apriyani Rahayu and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti.
Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa too have been in good contact and shall be up in opposition to Hong Kong’s Yeung Nga Ting and Yeung Pui Lam in the opening spherical.
The two Indian girls’s doubles pairs are preventing for a Paris Olympics spot.
(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is printed from a syndicated information company feed – PTI)
