As the Taipei Open kicks off on Tuesday, all eyes are on former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth and a promising group of young Indian shuttlers who are looking to make their mark at this BWF World Tour Super 300 event.
For Srikanth, now ranked No. 61 in the BWF rankings, the tournament presents a crucial opportunity to arrest a worrying dip in form. Once among the elite, the 32-year-old has battled injuries and inconsistent results over the past year.
His 2023 season included 14 appearances with only a semifinal finish at the Swiss Open to show for his efforts. This year, he has played five events, with a quarterfinal appearance at the Thailand Masters being his best.
Srikanth opens his campaign against compatriot S Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian, a rising star and 2022 World Junior Championships silver-medallist. Muthusamy recently made headlines by upsetting world No. 2 Anders Antonsen of Denmark, a feat that signals his readiness for the big stage.
In the men’s draw, several young talents will look to build momentum. Ayush Shetty, the 2023 World Junior Championships bronze-medallist and Orleans Masters semifinalist, faces a stern test against third seed Lee Chia Hao of Chinese Taipei.
Tharun Mannepalli, the 2023 National Games gold medallist, will meet Japan’s Shogo Ogawa, while Meiraba Luwang Maisnam will take on seventh seed Brian Yang of Canada.
The women’s singles competition also features a strong Indian contingent. Anupama Upadhyaya, who recently impressed with a win over England’s Miu Lin Ngan at the Sudirman Cup Finals, will clash with fellow Indian Unnati Hooda in the first round. Anmol Kharb, part of India’s Asian Team
Championship-winning squad, begins her campaign against a qualifier, and Rakshitha Sree Santhosh Ramraj faces a tough opener against second seed Sim Yu Jin of Korea. Aakarshi Kashyap will take on Hung Yi-Ting.
In the women’s doubles category, the pair of Rashmi Ganesh and Sania Sikkandar will represent India.
Additionally, former national champion Mithun Manjunath, along with Raghu Mariswamy, Manraj Singh, Aryamann Tandon, Ira Sharma, Shreya Lele, Mansi Singh, and Isharani Baruah, will look to battle through the singles qualification rounds.
With both experience and youthful energy in its ranks, India will hope the Taipei Open becomes a springboard for resurgence and rising fortunes on the international badminton circuit.
