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While several Indian shuttlers will come back from a well-deserved rest, Kidambi Srikanth and a few others will be playing their fourth tournament in four weeks at the Princess Sirivannavari Thailand Masters 2024.
The Super 300 event will see participation from a lot of shuttlers who are still looking to secure their place at the Paris Olympics. The tournament will be played in Bangkok, Thailand, from January 30 to February 4.
India’s highest-ranked and in-form women’s doubles pair, Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto, will be looking to make up a few more places in the world rankings and inch closer to the Olympics berth. They currently sit in the 20th spot in the world rankings.
The duo has been playing brilliant badminton over the last few months. They reached the quarterfinals of the Malaysia Open Super 1000 tournament earlier this month. They have also featured in three finals of their last five tournaments and will be looking to make it to yet another final in Bangkok.
Kiran George, who was the only Indian shuttler to make it to the quarterfinals last week at the Indonesia Masters, will be looking to improve his performance at the Thailand Masters.
Alongside Kiran George, Srikanth, Sameer Verma, S. Subramanian, and Mithun Manjunath will also be seen in action in the men’s singles category at the Thailand Masters.
Kiran George will take on China’s Lei Lan Xi, while former World No. 1 Srikanth will face off against Chinese Taipei’s Wang Tzu Wei.
In the women’s singles category, Aakarshi Kashyap will start her campaign against the home favorite and top seed from Thailand, Ratchanok Intanon, in the round of 32. The last time the two shuttlers faced each other was back in 2018, when Intanon comfortably beat Kashyap in straight sets with a score of 21-12, 21-11.
The other Indian shuttlers to feature in the women’s singles category of the Super 300 affair are Malvika Bansod, Ashmita Chaliha, and Samiya Imad Farooqui.
In the doubles categories, the women’s doubles pair Ponnappa and Crasto will spearhead India’s campaign at the tournament. All England semi-finalists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will also be seen in action. After a poor performance in 2023, the young duo will be looking to find their form once again.
Dhruv Kapila and M. R. Arjun, who haven’t had the best start to the year, will also be looking to change their fortunes. They will be India’s only representatives in the men’s doubles event.
Thailand Masters 2024 Schedule:
First round: January 30-31, 2024
Second round: February 1, 2024
Quarter-finals: February 2, 2024
Semi-finals: February 3, 2024
Finals: February 4, 2024
Indian contingent playing at the Thailand Masters 2024:
Men's singles: Kidambi Srikanth, Kiran George, Mithun Manjunath, Sameer Verma, and S. Subramanian
Women’s singles: Aakarshi Kashyap, Malvika Bansod, Samiya Imad Farooqui, and Ashmita Chaliha
Men’s doubles: Dhruv Kapila/M. R. Arjun
Women's doubles: Ashwini Ponnappa/Tanisha Crasto, Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand
