Australia Open Super 500 badminton tournament is going to start from Tuesday (June 9). In this tournament, double Olympic medalist PV Sindhu would like to end her long-running title drought. Third seed Sindhu is bidding to win her first BWF World Tour title since winning the Syed Modi International tournament in 2024.
The former world champion’s best performance this season has been reaching the semi-finals of the Malaysia Open in January. Sindhu has got a slightly easier draw in the Australian Open, due to which she has a golden chance to win the title. 30 year old Sindhu’s first match will be against Peru’s Ines Lucia Castillo. After winning this match, she will face the winner of the match between compatriot Isharani Barua and Han Qian Xi of China.
Sindhu reached the round of 16 at the Indonesia Open last week, where she lost to world number 1 An Se Young. If Sindhu reaches the semi-finals of the Australian Open, she may face world number-3 Akane Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi comes from Japan. If Sindhu overcomes Yamaguchi’s challenge, she may face Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong in the final. Chochuwong is the second seed in the Australian Open.
In the women’s singles draw itself, Tanvi Sharma will face fifth seed Chiu Pin Chien of Chinese Taipei, while Malvika Bansod will face Malaysia’s Goh Jin Wei. Anmol Kharb will face a tough challenge against former world champion and fourth seed Nojomi Okuhara of Japan. Akarshi Kashyap will face Wong Ling Ching of Malaysia, while Tanya Hemant will face Ishika Jaiswal of America.
Ayush Shetty will lead the Indian challenge in men’s singles. In men’s singles, world number 20 and sixth seed Ayush Shetty will play his first match against a qualifier. HS Prannoy will face Mohammad Zaki Uba of Indonesia, while Kiran George will face Justin Hoh of Malaysia in the first round.
In men’s doubles, Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun, who reached the quarter-finals at the Indonesia Open, will face a tough challenge against the eighth seeded pair of Li Fang-Chih and Li Fang-Jen of Chinese Taipei in the first round. Achyutaditya Rao Doddavarapu and Pochana Arjun Reddy will face China’s Huang Di and Liu Yang.
No Indian pair is participating in the main draw of women’s doubles. In mixed doubles, the sixth seeded pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto will play their first match against Hong Kong’s Chan Yin Chak and Ng Tse Yau.
