The likes of P V Sindhu, Lakshya Sen and even the double combination of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty needed a break to recuperate from injuries and niggles and rejuvenate themselves after the arduous Paris Olympic campaign.

Having taken their time by spending time away from the circuit, the top stars of Indian badminton are set to unleash their best on home turf as the India Open 2025 kicks off at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall at the Indira Gandhi Arena here from Tuesday.

Advertisement

The event, which is part of the BWF World Tour Super 750 series, has attracted the world’s best badminton players including the likes of Olympic champions Viktor Axelsen and An Se-Young among others.

Sindhu, the 2017 champion, took a long break after the Paris Olympics before returning to the circuit at the end of the year. She also got married in December and is looking forward to making a strong statement with her performance here.

“This will be my first tournament after marriage and also in the new year. So everything is new and I want to give my best in the competition in front of the home fans… After the Paris Olympics, I wanted some time to recover physically and emotionally and the break has helped me get back rejuvenated,” said Sindhu at the launch press conference of the India Open 2025 on Monday.

Sindhu will open her campaign against compatriot Anupama Upadhyaya with upcoming Japanese sixth seed Tomoka Miyazaki likely to be her opponent in the second round.

More than 200 players from powerhouse badminton nations such as India, China, Japan, Denmark, South Korea and Indonesia will be in action in the India Open this week with as many as 36 Indian players set to participate in the tournament.

Badminton Association of India secretary general Sanjay Mishra pointed out that the number of Indian players participating in the tournament was a testament to the federation’s effort to spread the game across the country.

“To have 22 entries in a Super 750 event is a big achievement for Indian badminton. Getting a chance to play in a tournament of this stature and watch the world’s best in action will only help the development of our young guns and this is why hosting such events is so important for us.”

Apart from Sindhu, Indian badminton fans will be hoping that Asian Games gold medallists and last edition runners-up, Satwik and Chirag, add another India Open trophy to their cabinet.

Satwik and Chirag were out of action for a major part of 2024 after the Paris Games. They made a strong comeback in the Malaysia Open Super 1000 last week, reaching the semi-finals and are determined to repeat their 2022 India Open title winning performance.