New Delhi: Top Indian shuttlers were on Wednesday handed a mixed draw for the BWF World Championships here with Asian Championships silver medallist Ayush Shetty facing the toughest opening round test against defending champion Shi Yu Qi of China, while PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen received relatively favourable starts.
India is hosting the World Championships for the first time in 17 years, with the event to be held at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium from August 17 to 23.
Former world champion Sindhu’s quest for an unprecedented sixth medal will begin against world No. 141 Sophia Nobel of Ireland, while 2021 World Championships bronze medallist Lakshya will take on Austria’s Collins Valentine Filimon. Should he progress, Lakshya is likely to face second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in the pre-quarterfinals.
Sindhu, who won the Japan Open last month, has managed to avoid the likes of world number one An Se Young of South Korea and defending champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan before the medal rounds. Though placed in the same half as Young, Sindhu is likely to meet China’s third seed Wang Zhi Yi in the pre-quarterfinals with a possible last eight clash against sixth seed Putri Wardani of Indonesia.
In men’s doubles, fifth seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty received a first-round bye being a seeded pair and will open their campaign against either Scotland’s Alexander Dunn and Adam Pringle or Thailand’s Chaloempon Charoenkitamorn and Worrapol Thongsa-Nga.
For Satwik and Chirag, the first real challenge is expected to come from the 12th seeded Indonesian pair of Raymond Indra and Nikolaus Joaquin, who reached the finals of the Indonesia Open in June this year.
Chief national coach Pullela Gopichand felt the draw had generally worked in India’s favour despite Ayush running into the tournament favourite in the opening round.
“I think overall it looks like a good draw from an Indian perspective and one of the big first rounds with Shi Yu Qi versus Ayush Shetty,” Gopichand told reporters after the draw ceremony.
“I do believe that Ayush is very good in his attacking style of game. First round against Shi Yuqi is better than playing him later in the draw. If he wins, it will open up the draw. So overall, I think it’s a favourable draw is how I look at it.”
Ayush has lost all three of his previous meetings against Shi but has stretched the Chinese star in their recent encounters.
Gopichand also expressed confidence in Lakshya, saying the former Commonwealth Games champion was now a far more complete player than when he won his maiden World Championships medal in 2021.
“Well, he has had some good tournaments, he has won some big tournaments. He has also missed out on a few big ones,” he said.
“The 2021 bronze medal he has won, which is one of his bigger wins at the starting of his career. Today I would say he is much more mature, he has got more experience on his side. He has been able to win some big tournaments.
“But I think this is going to be a tough one. Having said that, on a good day, Lakshya is going to beat anybody in the world. And he has, if I remember correctly, he is drawn in the same quarter-finals, pre-quarter-finals as Kunlavut Vitidsarn. So that is going to be a tough, long, physical match is what I would expect.
“But I am confident that with the home conditions and with the time we had for preparation in the last few weeks, I think we can expect some good results from him.”
The chief coach said the men’s singles competition was among the most open in recent years, giving both Lakshya and Ayush a realistic chance of reaching the podium.
“Having said that, we are looking at a men’s singles draw, which is much more open than what it has been ever. So I don’t think there are many clear favourites in there. I think whether it is Ayush or Lakshya, both of them have a very good chance to reach to the podium. And I would say that there are many other players in the world who have been playing well. If you look at the last bunch of tournaments, you had very good people from the Popovs to Chou Tien Chen, to players like Alvi Farhan, all of them have actually done well in varying numbers in different tournaments. So it depends on the particular day and Lakshya definitely has a chance.”
Among the other Indians in the singles draw, Unnati Hooda will meet Myanmar’s Thet Htar Thuzar in the opening round and could face 13th seed Michelle Li of Canada next.
In mixed doubles, 15th seeds Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto have a first-round bye and are projected to face sixth seeds Guo Xin Wa and Chen Fang Hui of China in the pre-quarterfinals. Rohan Kapoor and G Ruthvika Shivani will open against Canada’s Jonathan Lai and Crystal Lai.
In women’s doubles, Commonwealth Games bronze medallists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will face Spain’s Paula Lopez and Lucia Rodriguez, while Simran Singhi and Kavipriya Selvam take on another Spanish pair, Nikol Carulla and Carmen Jimenez.
The second Indian men’s doubles pair of MR Arjun and Hariharan will begin against Ireland’s Scott Guildea and Paul Reynolds.
