Former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth will return to badminton as part of a 23-member Indian team at the Macau Open, which begins on Tuesday. Srikanth, 31, has not competed on the Badminton World Federation (BWF) tour circuit since his injury in the Singapore Open in May. According to Olympics.com, he will now compete as the sixth seed in the BWF Super 300 event. The 2021 World Championships medalists advanced to the semifinals of the Swiss Open in March but failed to get past the pre-quarterfinals in nine other tournaments this year.
Malvika Bansod, the talented shuttler who defeated Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung to reach the last eight stage of the China Open just last week, has withdrawn from the event.
Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly, third seeds, will represent India’s best chance in the women’s doubles section at the tournament, having reached the quarterfinals of the Singapore Open BWF Super 750 earlier this June. But they have yet to win a championship this year.
N Sikki Reddy and B Sumeeth Reddy, Commonwealth Games medalists, will lead India’s effort in mixed doubles. PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen, two-time Olympic medalists, will not compete in the Macau Open, which ends on Sunday. Indian badminton squad for Macau Open 2024
Women’s doubles: Teresa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand [3], Apoorva Gahlawat/Sakshi Gahlawat; qualifier: Ruthvika Shivani Gadde/N Sikki Reddy Listen to the most recent music, exclusively on JioSaavn.com Mixed doubles: B Sumeeth Reddy and N Sikki Reddy, Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde