New Delhi, 12 October (H.S.): Two-time Olympic medallist P.V. Sindhu will face reigning champion and world No. 1 An Se-young of South Korea in the opening round of the Denmark Open badminton tournament, while Lakshya Sen will take on third seed Chou Tien-chen in men’s singles. The USD 950,000 BWF World Tour Super 750 tournament is scheduled to begin on Tuesday in Odense, Denmark, with Indian shuttlers facing a series of challenging first-round encounters.

Former world champion Sindhu arrives in Denmark following a mixed run of results. She won the Japan Open Super 750 title in July before reaching the quarter-finals of the Arctic Open last week. However, she suffered a three-game defeat against Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon. Sindhu’s head-to-head record against An Se-young makes her opening-round assignment particularly daunting, as the Indian has lost all her previous 10 encounters against the South Korean star.

Lakshya Sen, meanwhile, will be eager to rediscover his best form after a disappointing outing in the individual badminton competition at the Asian Games. His performances over the past two years have been inconsistent, although he reached the final of the All England Championships for the second time this year, having previously finished runner-up in 2022.

Sen was also the only Indian men’s singles player to reach the semi-finals at the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, a back injury has affected his preparations in recent months. At the Asian Games, he defeated Japan’s Kodai Naraoka in the quarter-finals of the men’s team event but suffered a first-round exit in the individual competition. He will now need to produce his best performance against Chou Tien-chen, who defeated another Indian, Ayush Shetty, in a closely contested three-game encounter at the Asian Games.

Ayush Shetty will look to build on his recent achievements when he opens his Denmark Open campaign against Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan. Shetty won the US Open Super 300 title in 2025 and attracted considerable attention at this year’s World Championships by defeating China’s Shi Yuqi, who was the world No. 1 at the time. However, Farhan will be a familiar and challenging opponent, having beaten the Indian in the round of 16 at the World Championships.

Kidambi Srikanth, who won the Denmark Open men’s singles title in 2017, will begin his campaign against France’s Arnaud Merkle.

In women’s singles, India’s challenge will be led by Tanvi Sharma, Ashmita Chaliha, Devika Sihag and Unnati Hooda. Tanvi will face Japan’s Natsuki Nidaira in the opening round. The young Indian enjoyed a breakthrough performance in August, winning the Chinese Taipei Open to claim her maiden BWF World Tour title.

Ashmita Chaliha will take on Bulgaria’s Kaloyana Nalbantova. She enters the tournament after winning the Korea Masters Super 300 title in August. Devika Sihag faces a difficult opening-round assignment against eighth seed Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand, while Unnati Hooda will meet China’s Han Qianxi.

Unnati impressed at the Asian Games last month, reaching the quarter-finals after defeating a top-10-ranked opponent. She also pushed Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi to three games in a closely contested encounter, demonstrating her ability to compete against leading players on the international circuit.

In men’s doubles, former world No. 1 Indian pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will be determined to bounce back after an early exit at the Asian Games. The duo ended a two-year wait for a title by winning the Singapore Open Super 750 in May before adding the China Masters title to their achievements last month.

The fifth-seeded Indian pair will begin their campaign against China’s He Jiting and Ren Xiangyu.

In women’s doubles, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will spearhead India’s challenge. The pair made history by winning a bronze medal at the World Championships in August and also reached the quarter-finals at the Asian Games, where they lost to Malaysia’s Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan.

Treesa and Gayatri will open their Denmark Open campaign against Chinese Taipei’s Chen Yan-fei and Hsieh Pei-shan. India will also be represented by the doubles combination of Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda, who face a tough first-round assignment against sixth seeds Bao Li Jing and Cao Ji Han of China.

With several Indian players arriving in Denmark on the back of notable title wins and encouraging international performances, the tournament presents an important opportunity for the contingent to build momentum and challenge some of the world’s leading shuttlers.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar