The Japan Open 2024, a famous badminton event in Asia, is scheduled to start on August 20 and will go on till the August 25. However, the top Indian shuttlers won't be participating this time in the tournament.
The men's singles will see Kiran George (World No. 37) take part, whereas the women's singles will witness Aakarshi Kashyap, Malvika Bansod, and Ashmita Chaliha.
In the mixed doubles, it will be the pair of N Sikki Reddy and B Sumeeth Reddy, and Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath, who'll represent India. The women's doubles event will be graced by the Panda sisters, Rutaparna and Swetaparna. No Indian participant will be there in the men's doubles.
So, which top shuttlers did not take part in the Japan Open? In this article, we will look into that!
#1 PV Sindhu
Two-time Olympic Games' medalist in Rio and Tokyo, PV Sindhu won't be a part of the Japan Open. She withdrew from the tournament. Her recent most appearance came in the Paris Olympics where she lost in the women's singles round of 16 stage to China's He Bingjiao.
#2 Lakshya Sen
Lakshya Sen created history after almost finishing with a medal in his debut Olympics campaign a few days back. However, he lost out to Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia in the bronze medal match despite leading the first game.
He was heavily criticised by his mentor Prakash Padukone, who is himself considered a legend of the sport in India. Perhaps, Sen needs a small break before he takes the court again!
#3 HS Prannoy
HS Prannoy didn't have a top-notch Paris Olympics campaign. Albeit, he won both his group stage games but ultimately succumbed to his Indian counterpart Lakshya Sen in the men's singles event at the Games. He was rumoured to have been injured as well. He too, like Sindhu and Sen has withdrawn from the Japan Open.
#4 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty
The dynamic and terrific duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were dominant throughout their Paris Olympics campaign until going down to Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the men's doubles quarter-finals.
They were being considered medal hopefuls, gold to be precise. However, an unfortunate defeat meant that their dreams of a medal were shattered. The Sat-Chi duo too, has withdrawn from the Japan Open and as a result India will not have any representative in the men's doubles event.