Lakshya Sen, PV Sindhu spearhead India’s medal push at Thailand Open Super 500

NEW DELHI: Lakshya Sen and PV Sindhu will spearhead India's challenge as the shuttlers shift focus back to individual glory after the country's bronze-medal finish at the Thomas Cup Finals when the USD 500,000 Thailand Open Super 500 tournament begins here on Tuesday.

Seventh seed Lakshya, who suffered an elbow injury and missed the crucial semifinal against France in Denmark, will open against Singapore's Jason Teh Jia Heng, while Ayush Shetty, who impressed during the Thomas Cup campaign, faces a difficult opener against sixth seed Japan's Kodai Naraoka, a world championships medallist.

In women's singles, sixth seed Sindhu will begin against Chinese Taipei's Tung Ciou-Tong. The 30-year-old from Hyderabad looked sharp during the Uber Cup campaign while sporting an experimental wearable device on her temple, but she will need to close out tight matches better to rediscover her ruthless edge.

Former world championships silver medallist Kidambi Srikanth, who reached the finals of the Malaysia Masters and Syed Modi International last season, has shown flashes of brilliance but has often struggled with inconsistency and unforced errors.

Now 33, Srikanth faces an uphill task to return to the podium regularly and will hope to make a strong start against eighth seed Loh Kean Yew in a rematch of the 2021 World Championships final.

Tharun Mannepalli, whose progress has frequently been interrupted by injuries and niggles, will take on Japan's Koki Watanabe.

Among other Indian women in fray, Unnati Hooda faces fourth seed Pornpawee Chochuwong in a tough opener, while Devika Sihag meets Japan's Natsuki Nidaira and Tanvi Sharma takes on Hina Akechi.

Malvika Bansod will open against Canada's Wen Yu Zhang, while Anmol Kharb has been handed a daunting first-round clash against second seed and former Olympic champion Chen Yufei. Isharani Baruah will face a qualifier. Agencies

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