Tokyo Olympian B Sai Praneeth will meet compatriot HS Prannoy in his opening match, while former Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap will square off against a qualifier.
In what was India's first-ever appearance in the tournament finale, they defeated the record 14-time champions Indonesia 3-0 at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand to lift the Thomas Cup 2022 title.
With five titles under his belt, Lakshya Sen was racing towards the top echelons of international badminton before his stunning run was halted by the coronavirus pandemic, which brought all sporting action to a halt across the world. With the world in lockdown to contain the deadly disease, Lakshya too is enduring the uncertain times within the confines of his apartment, near the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA) in Bengaluru.
Defending champion Lakshya Sen looked in fine fettle as he registered a straight-game win over compatriot H S Prannoy to make a winning start to his title defence at the Yonex-Sunrise India Open Super 750 badminton tournament, in Delhi, on Tuesday.
Expectations from the Indian male shuttlers will also be high, given their exploits in recent months.
Padukone said it's high time that players learn to withstand pressure, take responsibility, and deliver results after receiving significant support from the government.
P V Sindhu, H S Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth booked their places in the quarter-finals of the Malaysia Masters Super 500 tournament.
Rising Indian shuttler Malvika Bansod continued her impressive form this year, pulling off a stunning upset against world No. 23 Sung Shuo Yun of Chinese Taipei to advance to the women's singles pre-quarterfinals of the Arctic Open Super 500 tournament on Tuesday.
India's schedule on Day 7 of the Paris Olympics on Friday.
Indian shuttlers who competed at the Paris Olympics, including PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen and the men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, are giving the tournament, the year's final BWF Super 1000 event, a miss.
Ten years ago, Prakash Padukone had predicted the rise of Lakshya Sen.
The top Indian players, including Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and Srikanth have failed to lift the prestigious trophy
Kidambi outperforms Sen, Sameer scores upset win
Lakshya Sen's stunning win over Asian Games champion Jonatan Christie went in vain as the Indian men's badminton team went down fighting 2-3 to two-time defending champions Indonesia in the semi-finals to settle for a bronze at the Asia Team Championships in Manila on Saturday.
London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal, on the other hand, moved one place to 31st.
Prannoy and Sen played five times in 2022 with Sen coming into the match with a slender 3-2 advantage.
Lakshya Sen sails into third round of World Championships
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
The Indian badminton team returned empty-handed from the Olympics for the first time in over a decade.
While India have never won the gold at the Asia Mixed Team Championships, they did secure mixed team gold and silver at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 and 2022.
Despite the name, Indian success at the tournament hasn't been particularly regular with none from the host nation winning any title in the past two editions.
Sen rallied from a game deficit to defeat Yusuke Onodera of Japan
Check out how India's athletes fared on Day 5, Wednesday, July 31, 2024:
PM Modi met in person and interacted with the badminton squad
Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu survived some tense moments before progressing to the women's singles second round, but it was curtains for Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth in the men's singles at the Badminton Asia Championships, in Ningbo, China, on Wednesday.
Kidambi Srikanth, Priyanshu Rajawat and Kiran George won their respective men's singles round-of 16 matches to advance to the quarterfinals late on Thursday night.
His backhand blocks and forehand low returns reaped dividends but an alert Gemke managed to grab a four-point cushion at the interval.
Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila outclassed Adnan Maulana and Indah Cahya Sari Jamil in straight games in the first round match.
Sen, a product of the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, has been in the form of his life for about a year now.
'It was tough financially for the first few years but my friends and family supported me and once he did well at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, there was no looking back.'
The fifth seed Indian lost 21-12, 10-21, 19-21 in his opening round men's singles tie that lasted 56 minutes.
PV Sindhu is set to make a much-anticipated return to competitive badminton at the India Open Super 750 tournament after missing the season opener in Kuala Lumpur due to her wedding.
P V Sindhu eased into the second round with a straight-game win after fellow Indian Lakshya Sen showed his mettle with a stunning victory over world No. 10 Japanese Kanta Tsuneyama on the opening day of Indonesia Masters Super 750 in Bali on Tuesday.
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy have been handed relatively easy groups for the Paris Games, which begin on July 26.
India's badminton ace P V Sindhu entered the summit clash of BWF World Tour Finals with a hard fought win over Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the semi-finals, in Bali, on Saturday.
Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand (women's doubles) and B Sumeeth Reddy and N Sikki Reddy (mixed doubles) suffered three-game defeats in their opening contests.
Kidambi Srikanth scored a stunning straight-games victory over world No. 4 Lee Zii Jia but Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen suffered a shock defeat in the opening round of the Japan Open Super 750 badminton tournament, in Osaka, on Wednesday.
Star Indian shuttler P V Sindhu cruised into the quarter-finals of the All England Championships women's singles with a straight-game win over Sung Ji Hyun of Korea, in Birmingham, on Thursday.Rising Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen was knocked out after losing in straight games to Victor Axelsen.
The former world number one duo had been sidelined from competitive action post the Paris Olympics due to Satwik's shoulder injury.
It was a mixed day for India in the All England Championship as Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichanda clinched a stunning win, while Lakshya Sen crashed out.
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