Lakshya Sen Leads Indian Challenge at China Masters as Young Women's Singles Trio Takes Centre Stage

Lakshya Sen will spearhead India's campaign at the USD 1.25 million China Masters Super 750, beginning in Shenzhen on Tuesday, as the country's leading shuttlers look to make a strong impact following the recent World Championships.

World No. 13 Lakshya Sen will be eager to bounce back after his disappointing second-round exit at the World Championships, where he suffered a shock defeat to world No. 92 Garret Tan. Sen was originally scheduled to face newly crowned world champion Alex Lanier of France, but the Frenchman withdrew from the tournament. The Indian will now take on Canada's World No. 9 Victor Lai in a challenging opening-round contest.

Despite his recent setback, Sen has enjoyed some impressive performances this season, including a runner-up finish at the All England Championships, and will aim to regain consistency against a strong field.

Former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth faces Chinese Taipei's Chi Yu-jen after a mixed run on the circuit. Srikanth finished runner-up at the US Open Super 300 in June but later retired injured at the Canada Open and suffered a first-round exit at the Korea Masters.

In men's doubles, fourth seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty remain among India's biggest medal hopes. The former world No. 1 pair ended a two-year international title drought by winning the Singapore Open and will begin against Malaysia's Junaidi Arif and Khai Xing Kang. The duo will also be looking to build momentum ahead of their Asian Games title defence in Japan, although Satwik has been managing a recurring shoulder issue.

India's young women's singles contingent will also attract attention. Unnati Hooda faces Korea's Kim Ga Eun, while Tanvi Sharma takes on Denmark's Amalie Schulz. Unnati made history as India's youngest BWF World Tour title winner at age 14, while 17-year-old Tanvi recently became the youngest-ever Taipei Open Super 300 champion.

Meanwhile, Devika Sihag, fresh from winning the Thailand Masters Super 300, will face Bulgaria's Kaloyana Nalbantova, completing an exciting young Indian challenge in Shenzhen.