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Olympic medallist PV Sindhu will lead a 24-member Indian contingent at the 2026 Australian Badminton Open, which gets underway on Tuesday. The squad also features experienced campaigner HS Prannoy and rising star Ayush Shetty.
However, reigning men's singles champion Lakshya Sen will not return to defend the BWF Super 500 title he claimed last year. Former champion Kidambi Srikanth, who won the tournament in 2017, will also miss this year's edition, as per Olympics.com. Sindhu will lead a sizeable contingent of eight in the women's singles draw at the Quaycentre, Olympic Boulevard, in Sydney. In women's singles, Malvika Bansod, Anmol Kharb, Tanvi Sharma, Isharani Baruah, Aakarshi Kashyap and Tanya Hemnath have secured direct entry into the main draw, while Imad Farooqui Samiya will begin her campaign in the qualifying rounds. Notably, India will have no representation in the women's doubles event at this year's Australian Badminton Open. The men's doubles draw will also be without Asian Games gold medallists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. The star Indian pair pulled out after Satwik sustained a shoulder injury during the Indonesia Open last week, ruling them out of the Sydney tournament. MR Arjun-Hariharan Amsakarunan will look to fill the void and continue their good run of form after reaching the quarter-finals in Jakarta. Achutaditya Rao Doddavarapu and Arjun Reddy Pochana are set to compete in only their second BWF World Tour event of the season, having previously featured at the Orleans Masters earlier this year. In men's singles, Ayush Shetty, HS Prannoy and Kiran George will spearhead a relatively depleted Indian challenge. All three suffered first-round exits at last week's Indonesia Open and will be eager to bounce back with stronger performances in Sydney. India will also have three pairs in the mixed doubles competition. Dhruv Kapila and Olympian Tanisha Crasto lead the contingent, joined by Dhruv Rawat-Manisha Keer and the sibling duo of Mohit Jaglan and Lakshita Jaglan. Australian Badminton Open 2026: India squad: Men's singles: HS Prannoy, Ayush Shetty, Kiran George, Tharun Mannepalli, Saneeth Dayanand (Q), Manraj Singh (Q) Men's doubles: MR Arjun-Hariharan Amsakarunan, Achutaditya Rao Doddavarapu-Arjun Reddy Pochana Women's singles: PV Sindhu, Tanvi Sharma. Malvika Bansod, Isharani Baruah, Anmol Kharb, Aakarshi Kashyap, Tanya Hemnath, Imad Farooqui Samiya (Q) Mixed doubles: Dhruv Kapila-Tanisha Crasto, Dhruv Rawat-Manisha Keer, Mohit Jaglan-Lakshita Jaglan. (ANI)
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