India’s top men’s doubles badminton pair, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, will mark their return to competitive action at the China Masters 2024, beginning Tuesday in Shenzhen.
The tournament is a BWF Super 750 event.
The duo, currently ranked seventh in the world, has been sidelined since their quarterfinal exit at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where they lost to Malaysia’s Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik. Satwik’s shoulder injury had kept them out of subsequent events, including the BWF World Tour, but the reigning Asian Games champions are now set to test their mettle once again.
Seeded sixth in Shenzhen, this will be Chirag and Satwik’s first major outing after parting ways with coach Mathias Boe.
In the singles category, PV Sindhu will spearhead the Indian challenge in the women’s draw, joined by Aakarshi Kashyap, Malvika Bansod, and Anupama Upadhyaya. Malvika, who reached the quarterfinals of the China Open Super 1000 in September, recently finished as runnerup at the Hylo Open.
In men’s singles, Lakshya Sen faces a tough opening match against Malaysian seventh seed Lee Zii Jia, who defeated him in the bronze medal clash at Paris 2024. Priyanshu Rajawat also joins the men’s singles lineup as a late entrant.
In other doubles events, Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand will compete in women’s doubles, while B Sumeeth Reddy/N Sikki Reddy represent India in mixed doubles.
