All England Open 2022, Day 1 HIGHLIGHTS: Sindhu, Lakshya, Srikanth win — Scores, Updates, Results, Blog

And players on court - HS Prannoy vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn!

And we begin! It is seasoned campaigner HS Prannoy who is the first to head out from India as he takes on Thai sensation Vitidsarn.

A good start from Prannoy, who loves to attack more these days. He leads in the opening game 3-1. Swift so far, players still settling in.

On our plate of action for the day, it will be HS Prannoy heading out first!

After getting his winning streak cut short by Lakshya Sen in the quarter-finals of the German Open 2022, HS Prannoy will be hoping to make a strong start against German Open champ Kunlavut Vitidsarn, a 3-time World junior champion.

Vitidsarn took on Lakshya in the finals of the Super 300 event last week and all but humbled the Indian star. He will be coming into the match based on the high of having won his first-ever senior-level BWF title and HS Prannoy will have a tough cookie to crack.

Watch how Kunlavut dominated the match against Lakshya and went on to win the German Open 2022:

While we wait for our Indian stars to get into action, let's relive a little of last week's magic from the German Open

At the German Open last week, Lakshya Sen shone and how and even went on to defeat Viktor Axelsen in the semi-finals in a crazy thriller!

Watch some of that magic here:

We spoke to Ishaan and Tanisha ahead of their meeting with Praveen Jordan at the All England Open!

The young duo of Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto spoke to The Bridge before the European leg of the tour kicked off in full force and the Syed Modi champions relayed their excitement on getting into the All England draw and facing their idols.

Excerpts:

"I've played international tournaments before as well but not at this level! We even got an entry for the All England," a dazed Ishaan said before expressing his fear and excitement regarding facing the legendary Indonesian pair of Praveen Jordan-Melati Oktavianti in the opener of the Super 1000 in Birmingham.

"I used to watch Praveen Jordan's videos on YouTube and watch and learn from it and now we have to play against him, it's crazy," Ishaan gushed.

READ MORE | Off-court rivals, on-court partners: Mixed-doubles duo Ishaan and Tanisha eye a grand 2022

The stage is set for the Indian shuttlers to embark on their quest for an elusive All England crown!

There are some interesting match-ups today on our plate with 2019 World Championships bronze medallist B. Sai Praneeth having a tough first round against World No. 1 and Olympic champ Viktor Axelsen while Parupalli Kashyap will take on Anthony Ginting.

Meanwhile, in the doubles, the men's pair of MR Arjun/Dhruv Kapila will have to tame the Daddies - Hendra Setiawan and Mohammad Ahsan while rising mixed doubles sensation Ishaan Bhatnagar/Tanisha Crasto will take on idols Praveen Jordan and Melati Oktavianti!

The D-Day is here! All England Open action begins today!

Hello and a very warm welcome to our live blog as we get ready for some exciting clashes lined up throughout the day. 

Star Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth, Lakshya Sen, Sai Praneeth, HS Prannoy will be the key attractions from the day while the duo of Satwik-Chirag and Tanisha-Ishaan are also expected to heat things up at Arena Birmingham today!

Here's what all to watch out for on Day 1: