Denmark Open: PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen seek revival in form

Star Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen will be keen on overcoming the setback of the Arctic Open - their comeback event since their unceremonious exits from the Paris Olympics 2024 - at the Denmark Open, one of the most prestigious events on the BWF World Tour calendar, starting Tuesday.

While Sindhu made a first-round exit losing to Michelle Li of Canada, Lakshya, who got a bye in the first round after his opponent Rasmus Gemke withdrew, lost in the second round against Chou Tien Chen at the Arctic Open.

In Odense, Denmark, both the shuttlers will be eager to put up an improved show as they lead the Indian challenge at the Super 750 event.

Tough challenge awaits Lakshya

Lakshya will face off against unheralded Chinese player Lu Guang Zu in the first round. It will be Guang Zu's debut on the BWF World Tour.

Lakshya is expected to run into Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie in the second round. This will be their first meeting since they met at the Paris Olympics when Lakshya delivered a sterling performance by beating the third-seeded Christie 21-18, 21-12 in a group stage match.

If Lakshya overcomes Christie, he is likely to play against the reigning world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in the quarterfinals.

Sindhu faces Pai Yu Po

On the other hand, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu will open her campaign against Chinese Taipei’s Pai Yu Po. This will be her second event under the coaching of Anup Sridhar and Korean Korea’s Lee Hyun-il.

At the Arctic Open, Sindhu lost to Michelle Li of Canada in straight games, an opponent who lost to Sindhu ten times in her career.

Coach Sridhar and Lee Hyun have their task cut out as Sindhu seeks redemption in her form.

Other Indian shuttlers in the fray are Malvika Bansod, Aakarshi Kashyap, and promising player Unnati Hooda.

Malvika, who reached the quarterfinals of the China Open, will face Vietnam’s Nguyen Thuy Linh in the first round, while Kashyap will face a tough test from Thailand’s Supanida Katethong. Unnati goes up against Lauren Lam from the USA.

In women's doubles, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will take on the fifth-seeded Malaysian duo of Pearly Tan and Thinnah Muralitharan in their first-round match.

Besides Treesa and Gayatri, the Panda sisters, Swetaparna and Rutaparna, will be the other Indian women's doubles duo in contention. They will play Chang Ching Hui and Yang Ching Tung of Chinese Taipei in their opening-round match.

B Sumeeth Reddy and Sikki Reddy will represent India in mixed doubles. They will be Canada’s Kevin Lee and Eliana Zhang, while Sathish Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath will run into Indonesia’s Rehan Kusharjanto and Lisa Kusumawati.

With Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty continuing to be absent from the World Tour, India will have no representation in men's doubles at the Denmark Open.