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The Badminton World Championship 2023 draw was held on August 10, Thursday at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) HQ in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 16 Indian players were part of the draw, where four will participate in the singles’ events in the upcoming tournament. This year’s edition will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark from August 21 to 27. As per the draw, PV Sindhu and the star duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have received byes in the first round.
Sindhu, who won the title in 2019, will take on Vietnam’s Thuy Linh Nguyen or Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara as they are grouped in the top half of the draw. If she manages to reach the third round, Sindhu might lock horns with former world champion, Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon. Also, if the two-time Olympic medallist manages to sail to the quarterfinals, she will be up against World No. 1 An Seyoung of Korea. The 28-year-old is the only Indian competing in women’s singles events.
Speaking of the star Sat-Chi pair, the second seeded duo have also received a bye. Hence, they can square off against Joshua Magee-Paul Reynolds from Ireland or Australia’s Kenneth Zhe Hooi Choo-Ming Chuen Lim in the second round.
Talking about HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth, the star trio will compete in men’s singles. Prannoy will lock horns with Finland’s Kalle Koljonen, whereas Sen will go head-to-head against Georges Julien Paul of Mauritius. Meanwhile, Srikanth will square off against Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto.
