Badminton
BWF World Championships 2023: HS Prannoy handed a tough draw, PV Sindhu gets bye
HS Prannoy, the world no. 9, has been handed a tough draw, with a potential quarterfinal clash against world champion world no. 1 Viktor Axelsen.
Kidambi Srikanth (from left), PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy will be in the thick of action at the Badminton Asia Team Championships in February.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF), on Thursday, announced the draw of the World Championships 2023 in Kuala Lumpur.
HS Prannoy, the world no. 9, has been handed a tough draw, with a potential quarterfinal clash against world champion world no. 1 Viktor Axelsen.
Prannoy will open his campaign against Kalle Koljonen of Finland with potential clashes with Indonesian shuttler Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo in the round of 32 and Loh Kean Yew in the pre-quarterfinal.
Lakshya Sen, who is in the other half of the draw, will start his campaign against Georges Julien Paul. The world no. 11 is likely to face Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the pre-quarterfinal.
Kidambi Srikanth, the third Indian men's player in contention, will face a tough test in the opener as he runs into Kenta Nishimoto of Japan. Srikanth will face Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in the pre-quarterfinal, provided he wins against Kanta Tsuneyama in the round of 32.
If both Prannoy and Lakshya win, there could be an all-Indian clash in the semifinals.
PV Sindhu, the top Indian women's singles player, got a bye along with the women's and women's doubles pairing of Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty.
Men's singles
HS Prannoy vs Kalle Koljonen
Lakshya Sen vs Georges Julien Paul
Kidambi Srikanth vs Kenta Nishimoto
Women's singles
PV Sindhu- bye
Men's doubles
Satwik Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty- bye
Women's doubles
Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand- bye
Ashwini Bhatt-Shikha Gautam vs Debora Jille-Cheryl Seinen
