'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The fight for continental supremacy begins next week with the Badminton Asia Championships 2023. The tournament is scheduled to be held at the Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Indoor Hall, Al Nasr Club in Dubai from April 25 to 30. It will be the 40th edition of this prestigious event.
India have won 17 medals at this competition, with Dinesh Khanna's 1965 men's singles title win being the only gold for the contingent so far. Adding to the solitary gold this time around could be an uphill task for the country's shuttle brigade, considering the tough draw they have been handed.
PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy and the men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty are the only ones to be seeded. While Satwik and Chirag have received sixth seeding, both Sindhu and Prannoy have received eighth billing in their respective categories.
Sindhu's comeback from a five-month injury layoff hasn't gone according to expectations, though she did reach the final of the Madrid Spain Masters in her most recent outing. She meekly surrendered to Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in the summit clash.
The two-time Olympic medalist will hope to have learnt from her mistakes as she locks horns with World No. 17 Wen Chi Hsu in the first round in Dubai.
Youngsters Malvika Bansod and Aakarshi Kashyap have drawn formidable first-round opponents in top seed Akane Yamaguchi and seventh seed Ratchanok Intanon, respectively. Saina Nehwal, meanwhile, will start things off against a qualifier.
In men's singles, Lakshya Sen will run into seventh seed Loh Kean Yew in the opening round. In contrast, Kidambi Srikanth and Prannoy have relatively easier opponents to deal with. While Prannoy has Phone Pyae Naing first up, Srikanth faces the unheralded Adnan Ebrahim.
In men's doubles, Swiss Open champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty take on World No. 44 Tan Kian Meng/Tan Wee Kiong of Malaysia in Round 1. Krishna Prasad Garaga/Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala have the difficult task of negotiating fourth seeds Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi.
Lastly, MR Arjun/Dhruv Kapila square off against eighth seeds ONG Yew Sin/Teo Ee Yi.
Commonwealth Games bronze medalist women's doubles duo of Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand face Indonesia’s Lanny Tria Mayasari/Ribka Sugiarto in their opener. Ashwini Bhat K/Shikha Gautam will be up against another Indonesian pair, Meilysa Trias Puspitasari/Rachel Allessya Rose.
No Indian pair have got a direct entry into the main draw of mixed doubles. The pairs of Ashwini Ponnappa/Sumeeth Reddy, Juhi Dewangan/Venkat Gaurav Prasad, Rohan Kapoor/Sikki Reddy, and Nithin HV/Poorvisha S Ram will be playing the qualifiers.
Badminton Asia Championships 2023: Format
The continental championships will be contested in all five categories - men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles.
Each category will see 32 contestants vying for the trophy, out of which 28 have been directly placed in the main draw. Four qualifiers will join them in the main draw after winning the group stages.
The main draw will see five rounds of action, culminating with the finals on Sunday, April 30.
Badminton Asia Championships 2023: Schedule
Group stage: Tuesday, April 25.
Round 1: Wednesday, April 26.
Round 2: Thursday, April 27.
Quarterfinals: Friday, April 28.
Semifinals: Saturday, April 29.
Finals: Sunday, April 30.
Badminton Asia Championships 2023: Where to Watch in India
The Badminton Asia Championships 2023 can be watched live on Badminton Asia's Youtube channel and Facebook page from April 25 to 27. From April 28-30, the tournament will be broadcast live on Sony TEN 2 and Sony LIV in India.
Badminton Asia Championships 2023: First-round matchups of the Indian contingent
Men's singles
Lakshya Sen vs (7) Loh Kean Yew;
Kidambi Srikanth vs Adnan Ebrahim;
(8) HS Prannoy vs Phone Pyae Naing.
Women's singles
Malvika Bansod vs (1) Akane Yamaguchi;
(8) PV Sindhu vs Wen Chi Hsu;
Aakarshi Kashyap vs (7) Ratchanok Intanon;
Saina Nehwal vs Qualifier.
Men's doubles
(6) Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty vs Tan Kian Meng/Tan Wee Kiong;
Krishna Prasad Garaga/Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala vs (4) Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi;
MR Arjun/Dhruv Kapila vs (8) ONG Yew Sin/Teo Ee Yi.
Women's doubles
Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand vs Lanny Tria Mayasari/Ribka Sugiarto;
Ashwini Bhat K/Shikha Gautam vs Meilysa Trias Puspitasari/Rachel Allessya Rose.
