Sen vs Prannoy in Rd 1 as shuttlers eye glory

Basel: Star shuttlers PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen will continue their quest to regain top form when the $250,000 Swiss Open gets underway here on Tuesday, featuring draws that are crowded with Indians.

Sindhu, who is seeded seventh, will take on Malvika Bansod, India’s No. 2 female shuttler, in a clash between two generations.

Lakshya will also face a compatriot in HS Prannoy, who is a 2016 winner here, in his men’s singles opening match of the BWF Super 300 tournament.

Sindhu, the 2022 champion, suffered an opening round exit from the All England Championship last week after returning to action following a hamstring injury. Malvika, however, logged a confidence-boosting win over Singapore’s Yeo Jia Min at the same event.

Lakshya and Prannoy too endured contrasting results in Birmingham last week with the former reaching the quarterfinals and the latter going down in the opening round.

The Indian shuttlers have a formidable record at the Swiss Open. Past champions include Sindhu, K Srikanth, Prannoy, Sameer Verma, Saina Nehwal, and the men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.

This will be the first encounter between Lakshya and Prannoy, who were a part of the 2022 Thomas Cup-winning team, since the Paris Olympics.

Lakshya, who finished fourth at the Paris Olympics, defeated Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie last week, while Prannoy, having returned from a long lay-off due to chikungunya, has struggled with early exits since his comeback.

Among others, Aakarshi Kashyap and Anupama Upadhyaya will also aim for a decent run in women’s singles.

After a forgettable season at LSG last year, Rahul is looking for a fresh start at the Capitals. After a quarterfinal finish at the All England Championship, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, seeded fourth here, will square off against Aline Muller and Kelly Van Buiten in their opening match.