Sindhu returns from injury as Indian shuttlers look to shine in season-opening

PV Sindhu will face a tough test on her return from a fivemonth injury layoff as top Indian shuttlers including HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen will aim to start the year on a positive note at the Malaysia Open from TuesdayFollowing a highlysuccessful 2022 Indias star shuttlers will hope to raise the bar further in 2023 during which the Paris Olympic qualification period will start in MayWith plenty of ranking points at stake Indian shuttlers will join the other big stars such as World No1 Viktor Axelsen Malaysias Lee Zii Jia Akane Yamugachi Tai Tzu ying as they aim for a good show in the USD 1250000 Super 1000 tournament hereDouble Olympic medallist Sindhu who is returning from an ankle injury begins her campaign against former World Champion Carolina Marin of SpainSindhu last played at the Commonwealth Games in August and it will be an interesting battle against Marin who has won the last three encounters against the Indian and also boasts of a better 95 headtohead recordIn the mens singles World No10 Sen the only seeded Indian player will engage in a round of oneupmanship against compatriot and world no 8 Prannoy in the opening roundAlso readHS Prannoy PV Sindhu to lead Indian team in Badminton Asia Mixed Team ChampionshipsMeanwhile former world no 1 Kidambi Srikanth will open his campaign against Japans unseeded Kenta Nishimoto A win is likely to put Srikanth up against fifth seed Jonatan Christie with defending champion Axelsen also placed in the same quarterIn the mens doubles World No5 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty who won the CWG title India Open and French Open in 2022 will cross swords with South Koreas Choi Solgyu and Kim Wanho in the first roundWorld championships bronze medallists Satwik and Chirag seeded seventh are likely to face home favourites Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the quarterfinal if they can cross the initial roundsSaina Nehwal Aakarshi Kashyap and Malvika Bansod are also in the fray in the womens singlesWhile Saina will meet Chinas unseeded Han Yue Aakarshi will square up against Chinese Taipeis Hsu Wenchi and Malvika will face second seed An Seyoung of KoreaIn womens doubles CWG bronze medallists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will take on Hong Kongs Yeung Nga Ting and Yeung Pui Lam in the first round while Ashwini Bhat and Shikha Gautam are pitted against Thailands Supissara Paewsampran and Putita SupajirakulIndias mixed doubles pair Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto will face Netherlands Robin Tabeling and Selena Piek in the first roundThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever