All eyes on PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen and Saina Nehwal as BWF World Tour resumes with German Open

After the Indian leg of the BWF World Tour in January, the premier badminton action now shifts to Europe with three back-to-back tournaments.

The German Open will be held from March 8 to 13 at Muelheim an der Ruhr, Germany.

The six-day BWF World Tour Super 300 tournament will mark the beginning of the European leg, which includes the All England Open (March 16-20) and the Swiss Open (March 22-27).

The three-tournament Indian leg of the BWF World Tour was very successful for the Indian players. Lakshya Sen and men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty emerged as champions at the Indian Open. A week later, PV Sindhu ended her title drought by winning the Syed Modi BWF World Tour Super 300 tournament.

The top four Indian stars, along with Kidambi Srikanth, will look to continue their impressive performances as they compete in the German Open, which gets underway on Tuesday.

All eyes will be on PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, and Saina Nehwal as the BWF World Tour resumes with the German Open.

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PV Sindhu to face Thai Busanan Ongbamrungphan at BWF German Open

Seventh seed PV Sindhu will launch her campaign against world No. 11 Busanan Ongbamrungphan of Thailand in the first round.

Sindhu is likely to clash with Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt in the second round. If the two-time Olympic medallist clears the first couple of rounds, she might run into Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei.

Indian Open BWF World Tour 500 champion Lakshya Sen will begin his campaign against Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen. If the 20-year-old World Championships bronze medallist beats his opponent, he is likely to face fourth seed Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia.

After missing the BWF’s Indian leg due to COVID-19, Kidambi Srikanth will be eager to perform again at the German Open. The eighth-seeded Srikanth will lock horns with France's Brice Leverdez in the first round.

If World Championship silver medallist Srikanth wins against Leverdez, he is likely to face Lu Guang Zu of China in the second round.

Top seed and reigning Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen will be waiting for Srikanth in the quarters.

HS Prannoy will look to carry the momentum when he takes on seventh-seeded Ng Ka Long Angus in his opening round.

Parupalli Kashyap has regained fitness after laying low due to a calf injury. The former Commonwealth Games champion will square off against young sensation Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand.

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Saina Nehwal is making a comeback at the German Open

Saina Nehwal will also be in action after losing early at the Indian Open and pulling out of the Syed Modi and Odisha Open in January. After losing to youngster Malvika Bansod in the second round in New Delhi, Nehwal will be looking to make an impact in Germany.

Former world No. 1 Nehwal, who has been troubled by injuries in the last few months, will open against Singapore’s Yeo Jia Min.

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Satwik-Chirag given third seeding

Commonwealth Games silver medallists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have been given third seedings. The Indian Open champions will open against China’s Liu Yu Chen and Ou Xuan Yi.

Dhruv Kapila and MR Arjun will clash with sixth seeds Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi from Singapore.

Experienced pair Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy will lock horns against fifth seeds Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida of Japan.

Young and upcoming duo Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand Pullela will take on Debora Jille and Cheryl Seinen of the Netherlands in the women’s doubles.

In mixed doubles, India will be represented by the pairings of Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto, as well as new pair K Sai Pratheek and N Sikki Reddy.

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Seeded Indian players

Men’s singles

8. Kidambi Srikanth

Women’s singles

7. PV Sindhu

Men’s doubles

3. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty

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Indian Players Matches (First Round)

Men’s singles

8- Kidambi Srikanth vs Brice Leverdez

Lakshya Sen vs Kantaphon Wangcharoen

HS Prannoy vs 7-Ng Ka Long Angus

Parupalli Kashyap vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn

Women’s singles

7- PV Sindhu vs Busanan Ongbamrungphan

Saina Nehwal vs Yeo Jia Min

Men’s doubles

3- Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty vs Liu Yu Chen-Ou Xuan Yi

Krishna Prasad Garaga-Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala vs Hiroki Okamura-Masayuki Onodera

MR Arjun-Dhruv Kapila vs 6-Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi

Women’s doubles

Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand Pullela vs Debora Jille-Cheryl Seinen

Ashwini Ponnappa-Reddy N Sikki vs 5-Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida

Haritha Manazhiyil Harinarayanan-Ashna Roy vs Anastasiia Akchurina-Olga Morozova

Mixed doubles

Sai Pratheek K-Reddy N Sikki vs 1-Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai

Ishaan Bhatnagar-Tanisha Crasto vs Dejan Ferdinansyah-Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja