HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen pull out of Syed Modi India International

Top Indian male shuttlers HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen have pulled out of the Syed Modi India International Tournament starting Tuesday.

In the face of their withdrawals, the Super 300 badminton tournament will lose the superstar presence leaving Kidmabi Srikanth, the sixth seed, as the top Indian male shuttler in the tournament.

Asian Games bronze medallist Prannoy had recovered from a back injury to reach the quarterfinals at China Masters Super 750, while Canada Open Super 500 winner Lakshya, ranked 17th in the world, has not been in good form. He made six first-round exits since August.

Olympic medallist PV Sindhu has also decided to give the tournament as she recovers from a knee injury.

It has been a hectic schedule for the players and with the Olympic qualification on the line, players would like to be fresh for the next season.

B Sai Praneeth, Indonesia Masters winner Kiran George and Orleans Masters champion Priyanshu Rajawat are the other players who will be shouldering the Indian challenge at the tournament.

Srikanth will open his campaign against Chinese Taipei's Chia Hao Lee, while Priyanshu will face Dmitriy Panarin of Kazakhstan. Kiran will take on a qualifier and Praneeth, who has been struggling with form, will face Japan's second seed Kenta Nishimoto.

World junior championships silver medalist S. Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian will take on Arnaud Merkle of France. Mithun Manjunath, on the other hand, will also face France's Alex Lanier, and former world number 11 Sameer Verma will face off against Chinese Taipei's Wang Tzu Wei.

In women's singles, talented teenagers Unnati Hooda, Anupama Upadhaya and Tasnim Mir will look to make the best use of the chance.

Malvika Bansod, Aakarshi Kashyap, Ashmita Chaliha, Tanya Hemanth, and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde are the other Indian contenders in women's singles.

Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will lead the Indian challenge in women’s doubles, while Tanisha Crasto will partner with Ashwini Ponnappa. Tanisha, who won the mixed doubles title last year with Ishaan Bhatnagar, will pair up with Dhruv Kapila this time.

In men's doubles, the Indian challenge will be led by Dhruv Kapila and Vishun Panjala in the absence of the Asian Games champion Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.