The international badminton caravan has come to New Delhi in the second week of the new season for the India Open Super 750, starting Tuesday.
All eyes will be on India’s top badminton players – PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty – as they look to set the tone for the 2026 season at home. Most Indians had a largely disappointing start to the year at the Malaysia Open Super 1000 last week, except veteran Sindhu who reached the semifinals, and young Ayush Shetty, who gave a good account of himself.
A major BWF title at home is no easy feat though. Ever since India Open became a Super 750 tournament (which makes it a mandatory for top players) in 2023, there has been no Indian winner, and only Satwik and Chirag have reached the final. Home advantage in badminton doesn’t count for much when you are not a top eight seeded player in a draw that has all the world’s best competing. For most of India’s best to make a mark at the Indian Open 2026, they will have to get through a tough field, and a loud and supportive home crowd should help in raising their performance.
This year, the tournament also doubles up as a dress rehearsal for the BWF World Championships, which will be held in August. For this reason, the tournament has shifted to a new, bigger and revamped hall within the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex. The venue thus will be new for everyone, and it remains to be seen how the drift in the larger hall plays out, coupled with the windy winter of New Delhi.
The one advantage of hosting a major BWF event at home, of course, is that there will be plenty of Indians in action in the initial rounds. Here are some of the big storylines to keep an eye on:
Lakhya Sen vs Ayush Shetty in Round 1
In a throwback to the days when all-Indian matches were the norm in men’s singles, Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty will meet in the first round of the Indian Open. Lakshya leads Ayush 2-0 but with both training at the same academy (and often the same coaches), this match can be fascinating given it’s a solo, on-court effort without coaching inputs. Additionally, Ayush will be high on confidence after pushing world No 1 Shi Yu Qi to three games last week and will want to make the most of playing the India No 1 at home. The winner of this match will likely take on 7th seed Kodai Naraoka in the second round.
Return of Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy
The India Open will also see veterans Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy start their 2026. Both players have fallen out of the top 32 after injuries and don’t always make major main draws. A good run at home will offer crucial ranking points and a chance to play bigger matches in 2026.
Srikanth starts against fellow Indian Tharun Mannepalli while Prannoy plays a resurgent Lee Cheuk Yiu, who beat Lakshya and Christo Popov last week and is a former finalist in Delhi. A win for either means being up against a seeded player in the second round — Popov for the Srikanth / Tharun and Loh Kean Yew for Prannoy.
Wang rematch for Sindhu
Sindhu started her 2026 season with a credible run to the semifinals in Malaysia after returning from a three-month injury layoff and will want to continue in the same, sharp vein. While her opener against Vietnam’s Nguyen Thuy Linh should be simple, she has a potential second-round clash against world No 2 Wang Zhi Yi, who she lost to in the semifinals on Saturday.
Wang is a Chinese player Sindhu has had the number of in the past, most recently in her World Championship win, and home support will motivate her further to get past the second seed this time around and hopefully make a deep run. The other seed in her section in Tomoka Miyazaki, who she comfortably beat last week.
Interestingly, Wang’s first round opponent on 17-year-old Indian Tanvi Sharma, whose refreshing, attacking style of play can make for a great battle.
Can Satwik and Chirag go all the way?
Currently, it goes without saying that India’s best podium hopes at any major BWF events is the men’s doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.
Their fitness and form is back to near-peak, and the draw as the 3rd seeds is also favourable. They have reached two finals in the last four editions, winning when it was a Super 500 back in 2022. Last week, they lost in the quarterfinals in Malaysia with an inexplicable fade and will now look to put that behind and use one of their big assets – channelling the crowd energy – to go all the way in New Delhi this time.
Solid representation in women’s and mixed doubles
There are six Indian pairs in women’s doubles and four in mixed doubles, which makes for a solid representation in disciplines that India struggles in. Of course, the higher number may not translate to much, but it will be good exposure for the young Indians.
Here’s the full list of Indians in action:
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Men’s singles: Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty, Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy, Tharun Mannepalli
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Men’s doubles: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty, MR Arjun/Hariharan Amsakarunan
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Women’s singles: PV Sindhu, Malvika Bansod, Tanvi Sharma
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Women’s doubles: Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda, Gayatri Rawat and Mansa Rawat, Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra, Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singhi, Ashwini Bhat and Shikha Gautam
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Mixed doubles: Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde, Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh, Dhruv Rawat and Maneesha K
Where can we watch it?
Eurosports will broadcast it in India, with matches also available on BWF YouTube channel.
