HS Prannoy Leads India's Charge at Australian Open Badminton

HS Prannoy, India's badminton ace, will spearhead the nation's challenge at the Australian Open, commencing in Sydney on Tuesday. Prannoy, seeded fifth, has endured a string of disappointing results in recent tournaments. He suffered a shock defeat to compatriot Meiraba Luwang Maisnam in the opening round of the Thailand Open last month. Subsequently, he succumbed to world No. 11 Kenta Nishimoto in the Singapore Open Round of 16.

Determined to reverse his fortunes, Prannoy will open his Australian Open campaign against Ygor Coelho of Brazil. Sameer Verma will face Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo of Indonesia, while Ravi will encounter a formidable opponent in eighth seed Loh Kean Yew of Singapore. Other Indian men's singles contenders include Mithun Manjunath, Kiran George, and S Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian.

In women's singles, eighth seed Aakarshi Kashyap will lead the Indian charge. She will face Ukraine's Polina Buhrova in the opening round. Ashmita Chaliha, Anupama Upadhyaya, and Samiya Imad Farooqui will also represent India in the women's singles.

India will be represented in the women's doubles by the Panda sisters, Rutuparna and Swetaparna, and the pair of Harshita Rout and Sruti Swain. In mixed doubles, eighth seed B Sumeeth Reddy and Sikki Reddy will face Malaysian duo Wong Tien Ci and Lim Chiew Sien. Tarun Kona and Sri Krishna Priya Kudaravalli will also compete in mixed doubles.

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