PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth to Lead Indian Charge at Madrid Spain Masters

Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu and ace men's shuttler Kidambi Srikanth will embark on their European campaign at the Madrid Spain Masters tournament, commencing on Tuesday. Sindhu, seeded second, will face Wen Yu Zhang of Canada in the round of 32, while seventh seed Srikanth will take on a qualifier.

Sindhu, who finished as runner-up in the previous edition, will be eager to make amends after her heartbreaking loss to Indonesia's Gregoria Mariska Tunjung. Srikanth, who reached the semifinals of the Swiss Open Super 300 tournament before bowing out to Chinese Taipei's Lin Chun-Yi, will aim to make an impact after failing to qualify for the Paris Olympics.

Joining Srikanth in the tournament will be Kiran George and Sathish Karunakaran. Among other Indians in the fray, Ashmita Chaliha will face fourth-seeded and former world champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand, while Malvika Bansod will clash with Iris Wang of the United States.

Lakshya Sen, who reached the semifinals of the All England Championships this year, has withdrawn from the tournament. The fifth seed was scheduled to face world No. 39 Takuma Obayashi of Japan.

In women's doubles, fifth seeds Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will lead the Indian charge. The duo will be looking to bounce back from their disappointing quarterfinal loss in the Swiss Open. Third-seeded Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa will also compete, while Ashwini Bhat and Shikha Gautam complete the Indian contingent.

In men's doubles, Krishna Prasad Garaga and Sai Pratheek will open against fourth-seeded Canadians Dong Adam and Yakura Nyl, while eighth seeds M R Arjun and Dhruv Kapila will take on the Mexican duo of Job Castillo and Luis Armando Montoya Navarro.

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