Singapore Open badminton: Satwik-Chirag duo leads Indian challenge; Prannoy, Lakshya, Sindhu also in fray

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lead Indian badminton stars at Singapore Open after overcoming fitness issues.

The celebrated pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will make a much-anticipated return to elite competition after shaking off fitness concerns when the duo leads a star-studded Indian challenge at the Singapore Open Super 750 tournament starting in Singapore on Tuesday.

The former world number one duo last played at the All England Championships in March but withdrew in the second round due to Chirag's back injury. They also pulled out of the Sudirman Cup because of Satwik's health issues.

Now fully fit, the Indian team, which reached the semifinals of Malaysia Open and India Open earlier this year, will open against Malaysia's Choong Hon Jian and Muhammad Haikal.

By reaching the finals of last week's Malaysia Masters, Kidambi Srikanth managed to lift himself and the overall gloom that had set over Indian badminton in the past few months.

He broke the pattern of India's singles players largely failing to make a deep run in the tournaments week after week for the past few months. Though he won't be competing this week, he will serve as an inspiration for his compatriots as they fight it out at the $1,000,000 event.

HS Prannoy, a 2023 World Championships bronze-medallist who witnessed the rampaging run of Srikanth at Kuala Lumpur, will look to produce a similarly gritty show when he begins his campaign against Denmark's Rasmus Gemke. Prannoy is on a comeback trail after battling chikungunya last year.

The 32-year-old, who has been bogged down by fitness issues and the after-effects of the illness, showed promise against Japan's Kenta Nishimoto last week but fell to Yushi Tanaka in the second round.