Satwik and Chirag hit peak form ahead of All England Open
BIRMINGHAM: Newly-crowned French Open champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will be expected to continue their rich vein of form, while the seasoned
P V Sindhu will hope to ace a trial by fire to end India’s 23-year-old title drought at the All England Championships starting on Tuesday.
Prakash Padukone (1980) and Pullela Gopichand (2001) are the only ones from India to have claimed the title with Saina Nehwal (2015) and Lakshya Sen (2022) coming close when they finished runner-ups.
The prestigious tournament holds an iconic status in India but over the years, its exclusivity has somewhat dwindled as it is now one of the four Super 1000 event on the international calendar.
Satwik and Chirag have already won a Super 1000 title in Indonesia last year and given their stellar run this season, expectations would be high when the two towering shuttlers take the court this week, following their exploits at Paris on Sunday night.
Standing in front of them in the opening round in England will be the veteran Indonesian pair of Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan, the three-time world champions. They have caused a lot of heartbreaks for the Indians in the past.
The ‘Daddies’ had defeated Satwik and Chirag the last time they faced in the French Open last year and the Indians will be eyeing revenge.
If they cross the opening hurdle, the Indian duo is likely to face the Malaysian pair of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik. The Malaysians are formidable foes but Satwik and Chirag have defeated them thrice in the last three meetings.
Sindhu will also face an acid test this week with world no. 1 and top seed Korean An Se Young lined up in the second round is the Indian tames Germany’s Yvonne Li, against whom she has a 2-0 record.
Sindhu has shown that she has recovered well from the left knee injury that left her on the sidelines for four months before her campaign in the French Open last week.
With the legendary Padukone by her side, Sindhu matched Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei before marginally falling short in the quarterfinals in Paris.
The 68-year-old Padukone will also be a constant source of inspiration for Lakshya Sen, who received a big boost in his race for Olympic qualification with a semifinal finish at the French Open last week.
Sen will be up against Malaysia’s Ng Tze Yong with a likely clash against fourth seeded Dane Anders Antonsen awaiting him in the second round.
Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa too have been in good touch and will be up against Hong Kong’s Yeung Nga Ting and Yeung Pui Lam in the opening round.