The 2024 international badminton season is all set to begin with the Malaysia Open Super 1000 from Tuesday.
The start of this year becomes even more significant as it marks the final leg of the Paris Olympics qualification cycle. The first quarter of the year will more or less decide the Olympic berths, making it a crucial period for all players and there are most points on offer at a Super 1000 event.
Almost all of India’s top badminton stars will be in action at Kuala Lumpur, looking for a positive start to the season and set the tone for an important year. Most Indian players have had mixed seasons in 2023 and will want to build on their off-season gains in Malaysia, with the home tournament India Open Super 750 next week.
The major notable absentee is PV Sindhu, who was injured last year and opted for a protected ranking till February. The women’s doubles pair of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly have not entered as well.
HS Prannoy (8) and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (2) are the only Indians seeded while a couple of Indians have been promoted from reserves to make the main draw of the Super 1000. Here’s a detailed look at Indians’ draw and chances at the Malaysia Open Super 1000.
Men’s singles
HS Prannoy vs Anders Antonsen
Lakshya Sen vs Weng Hong Yang
Kidambi Srikanth vs Jonatan Christie
The good thing about the men’s singles draw this time is that no Indians have fallen in the same section.
Prannoy, the only singles seed at No 8, faces an interesting challenge to start the new year against a resurgent Anders Antonsen. The Dane reached the semis of the BWF World Tour Finals last month after a good season in 2023. Prannoy leads their H2H 2-0 but they haven’t played since 2017, which is long before either of their peaks. A win will pit him against the winner of Ng Tze Yong and Koki Watanabe with 2nd seed Kodai Naraoka the other seed in his quarter, who leads the Indian 5-1.
Lakshya Sen opens his campaign against China’s Weng Hong Yang, both players who are ranked similarly at 16 and 18 in the world. Their H2H is a balanced 2-2 as well, but their last match was in 2019. Both players are young and have had many gains in the 2023 season, making it a well-matched battle. A win for Lakshya puts him in the path of 3rd seed Li Shi Feng, a familiar rival who the Indian leads 5-3. Kunlavut Vitidsarn is the other seed in this quarter and is another familiar rival for Lakshya.
Kidambi Srikanth, who has had an largely indifferent season in 2023, starts against 6th seed Jonatan Christie. The Indian has a positive 6-5 H2H record against the Indonesian (remember the Thomas Cup final?) but they haven’t played in over a year and their form guides have been opposite. A win will see him face the winner of Kanta Tsuneyama and Ng Ka Long Angus in the second round but they are all in the same quarter as top seed and man to beat – Viktor Axelsen.
Women’s singles
Akarshi Kashyap vs Zhang Yi Man
The only Indian representation in women’s singles comes from Akarshi Kashyap, who was promoted from the reserves after Carolina Marin withdrew with an illness.
The 40th-ranked Indian face a tough task against China’s Zhang Yi Man. The world No 17 has beaten the Indian both the times they have played in 2023. A win see her take on the winner of Pai Yu Po vs Wen Chi Hsu while 3rd seed Akane Yamaguchi is the only other seed in this section.
Men’s doubles
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty vs Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Bagas Maulana
MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila vs Lee Fang-Chih and Lee Fang-Jen
All eyes in men’s doubles will be on 2nd seeds Satwik and Chirag, who are one of the badminton stars to watch out for in 2024. However, they have a test on their hands from the get-go, playing Indonesia’s Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Bagas Maulana in the opener.
The Indians lead them 3-2 in H2H but the former All England Champions have beaten them in their last two meetings in 2023. Interestingly, they had faced each other at last year’s Malaysia Open as well, with the Indian winning that one. The other seeds in their quarter are China’s Liu Yu Chen and Ou Xuan Yi, who reached the semis of the World Tour finals last month. It’s a challenging start to the season for Sat-Chi, to say the least.
The other Indians in the draw, MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila, were promoted from the reserves and will play Lee Fang-Chih and Lee Fang-Jen of Chinese Taipei. It will be their first meeting, but they are ranked almost 20 places above the world No 43 Indians. A win will see them run into fifth seeds Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto.
Women’s doubles
Ashwini Ponappa and Tanisha Crasto vs Francesca Corbett and Allison Lee
Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda vs Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara
While India’s top ranked women’s doubles pair of Gayatri and Treesa (world No 19) are not in the draw, there are two other teams competing.
.Ashwini Ponappa and Tanisha Crasto, who have had an excellent run at the end of the 2023 season reaching three straight finals and winning one in the Indian leg (Syed Modi, Guwahati Masters and Odisha Masters) are now ranked 24th, closing in on the India No 1 spot. They start against Americans Francesca Corbett and Allison Lee, who are 36th in the world and have not played each other before.
A win will see them take on either seventh seeds Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara or fellow Indians Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda.
The Panda sisters were promoted from reserves and face the Japanese seeds first up. A tough ask for a pair ranked 52nd in the world but a great opportunity for experience at the highest level of the BWF World Tour.
There are no Indians in the Mixed Doubles draw.
