BWF World Championships 2022: Tough test ahead for Lakshya Sen, PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal in Tokyo

World No. 7 PV Sindhu has previously clinched the title at the BWF World Championships in 2019. 

However, she has been in the tough draw and is expected to lock horns with World No. 3 An Se Young of South Korea in a quarterfinal clash. The 20-year-old South Korean is the reigning world champion and a tough player to crack.

PV Sindhu has received a first-round bye. If the seeding is expected, she will face Wang Zhi Yi of China in the third round.

Lakshya Sen, Saina Nehwal, H.S Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth will also aim to continue their fantastic run at the 2022 BWF World Championships in Tokyo, Japan.

London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal will return to the court after missing the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. She will face Cheung Ngan Yi of Hong Kong in the opening round and potentially World No 6 Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in the second round.

Malvika Bansod is the third Indian shuttler in the women’s singles draw. She will open her campaign against World No. 21 Line Christophersen of Denmark.

In the men’s category, Lakshya Sen, H.S Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth have all been placed in the same half of the draw, with World No. 10 Sen receiving a first-round bye.

B Sai Praneeth is in the other half of the draw. He will open his campaign against World No. 4 Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei.

World No 2 Kento Momota of Japan and World No 5 Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia will be the biggest obstacles in the Indian bid for a men’s Tokyo World Championships medal.

The women’s doubles event will feature four pairings of India shuttlers looking to impress:

• Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand
• Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy
• Pooja Dandu and Sanjana Santosh
• Ashwini Bhat K and Shikha Gautam

Birmingham gold medallists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will spearhead India’s bid in the men’s doubles category. Manu Attri/B Sumeeth Reddy, MR Arjun/Dhruv Kapila and Krishna Prasad Garaga/ Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala will also be looking to impress.

Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto, along with the other pairing of Venkat Gaurav Prasad and Juhi Dewangan, will compete under the Indian flag in the mixed doubles category.

PV Sindhu is the only Indian shuttler to win the World Championships gold medal. The Indian badminton contingent is having a fantastic run this year and will be looking to add to their BWF World Championships medal tally.

The 2022 BWF World Championships will kick off at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in Tokyo on August 21, with 27 Indian shuttlers participating in the competition.