Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy gear up for Malaysia Open as new season begins

New Delhi, January 6: India's HS Prannoy is set to make his much-anticipated return to competitive badminton at the Malaysia Open 2025, which begins at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday. This BWF Super 1000 tournament marks Prannoy's first appearance since his Round of 16 exit at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where he lost to compatriot Lakshya Sen. Ranked 26th in the world, Prannoy will aim to regain his form as the new season begins, according to Olympics.com.

Joining Prannoy is world No. 12 Lakshya Sen, who had an impressive run last year, including a semi-final finish at the Paris Olympics and a victory at the Syed Modi International in December. Priyanshu Rajawat, a member of India's historic Thomas Cup-winning team, will also represent the country in the men's singles category.

In men's doubles, India's top-ranked pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, are the nation's sole representatives. The duo is ranked ninth globally and is regarded as India's strongest hope in the doubles category.

The women's singles contingent, in the absence of PV Sindhu, will feature Aakarshi Kashyap, Anupama Upadhyaya, and Malvika Bansod. Meanwhile, the women's doubles team will be led by Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, the sixth seeds coming off a title win at the Syed Modi International. They will be joined by eighth-seeded Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto, as well as the sibling pairing of Rutaparna and Swetaparna Panda.

In the mixed doubles category, India has three teams in contention: Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath, and Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh. Notably, the latter two pairings will face each other in the opening round of the event.

The Malaysia Open 2025 marks the first event of the BWF World Tour season.