Ayush Shetty and Tanvi Sharma will lead the Indian badminton contingent at the USD 250,000 Orleans Masters Super 300 badminton tournament in Orleans starting Tuesday.
The absence of experienced names like PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy will put the onus on the young brigade.
HS Prannoy, who was to meet top seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in the opening round, withdrew after suffering a shoulder injury during last week’s Swiss Open in Basel.
Lakshya Sen, meanwhile, is recovering from his runner-up finish at the All England.
The young and promising Ayush Shetty, seeded eighth and currently ranked world No. 25, will open his campaign against Taiwan’s Lee Chia Hao. Former world no 1 Kidambi Srikanth will take on Denmark’s Magnus Johannesen.
Tharun Mannepalli, a quarterfinalist at the Swiss Open, will play Taiwan’s Wang Tzu Wei, and Kiran George will be up against third seed Kenta Nishimoto of Japan. The Indian had beaten former world champion Loh Kean Yew in Basel.
Tanvi, Malvika to take charge
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu has decided to skip the Super 300 tournament, her second since being stranded in Dubai. She had earlier skipped the Swiss Open last week.
In her absence, the focus will be on the World no 10 Tanvi Sharma and World No 21 Malvika Bansod.
Tanvi Sharma, a silver medallist at the BWF World Junior Championships, will take on Thailand’s Supanida Katethong, while Malvika Bansod will be up against Taiwan’s Sung Shuo Yun.
Isharani Baruah, Anmol Kharab, Rakshitha Ramraj and Devika Sihag will be other Indian’s in fray in the women’s singles.
The men’s doubles pair of Hariharan Amsakarunan and M R Arjun, and mixed doubles pair of Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde, will also hope to keep the country’s hopes alive.
The leading men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty had pulled out of the Swiss Open semifinals citing injury concerns.
India squad for Orleans Masters 2026
Men’s singles: Kidambi Srikanth, Ayush Shetty, Kiran Goerge, Tharun Mannepalli.
Women’s singles: Tanvi Sharma, Malvika Bansod, Anmol Kharab, Rakshitha Ramraj, Isharani Baruah, Devika Sihag.
Men’s Doubles: Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun.
Women’s Doubles: Ashwini Bhat and Shikha Gautam.
Mixed Doubles: Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde.
