Former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth is set to make his long-awaited return to badminton at the Macau Open, starting Tuesday. The 31-year-old Indian has been sidelined since suffering an injury during the Singapore Open in May.
Srikanth, who is seeded sixth for the BWF Super 300 event, will be joined by a 23-member Indian contingent. The contingent includes promising shuttler Malvika Bansod, who recently reached the quarterfinals of the China Open. However, Bansod has withdrawn from the Macau Open.
In Srikanth’s absence, India’s hopes in the men’s singles competition will rest on the shoulders of Mithun Manjunath, Sameer Verma, and Ayush Shetty.
In the women’s singles, Anupama Upadhyaya, Tanya Hemanth, and Tasnim Mir will be the Indian representatives.
India’s best chance for a podium finish lies in the women’s doubles competition, where Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly are seeded third. The duo reached the semifinals of the Singapore Open BWF Super 750 event earlier this year.
Commonwealth Games medalists N Sikki Reddy and B Sumeeth Reddy will lead India’s charge in the mixed doubles competition.
Notably, two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen will not be participating in the Macau Open.
The tournament will conclude on Sunday, November 27.
