India will look to make a strong impact at the US Open Super 300 badminton tournament, beginning on Tuesday, with Paris Olympics semifinalist Lakshya Sen and rising star Tanvi Sharma spearheading the country’s challenge across multiple categories.
Sen, seeded second in the men’s singles draw, enters the tournament seeking a return to form after an early exit at the Indonesia Open. The world No. 14 will begin his campaign against Belgium’s Julien Carraggi and is among the leading contenders for the title. Awaiting in the opposite half of the draw is top seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei, against whom Sen holds a narrow 5-4 advantage in previous meetings.
India will also have experienced campaigner Kidambi Srikanth in action. The fifth seed starts against Chinese Taipei’s Liao Jhuo-Fu as he looks to put together a deep run in the tournament. Elsewhere, Saneeth Dayanand faces a difficult opening-round challenge against Japan’s fourth seed Yudai Okimoto, while S. Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian will begin his campaign against a qualifier.
In the women’s singles competition, India has a strong presence with seven players in the main draw. Attention will be firmly on 17-year-old Tanvi Sharma, who continues to impress on the international circuit. Seeded fifth, Tanvi arrives in the United States after reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open Super 500 earlier this month and will open against Germany’s Yvonne Li.
Sixth seed Devika Sihag, who has already claimed titles at the Thailand Masters and Azerbaijan International this season, will start her campaign against Peru’s Ines Lucia Castillo Salazar.
Other Indian contenders include Anmol Kharb, who faces Bulgaria’s Kaloyana Nalbantova, and Rakshitha Sree S, who takes on a qualifier with the possibility of meeting top seed Michelle Li in the second round. Shriyanshi Valishetty will play Canada’s Rachel Chan, while Tanya Hemanth faces a tough challenge against Japan’s third seed Riko Gunji. Aakarshi Kashyap begins against Chinese Taipei’s Tung Ciou-Tong.
India’s hopes in women’s doubles rest on Commonwealth Games bronze medallists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand. The pair will begin their campaign against Spain’s Paula Lopez and Lucia Rodriguez.
In mixed doubles, seventh-seeded Dhruv Rawat and Maneesha K will represent India and open against Indonesia’s Wirawan Ihsan Adam and Serena Kani.
While India has no representation in the men’s doubles main draw, the country will be hoping its singles stars and established doubles combinations can deliver a strong performance during the week-long tournament.
