On Tuesday, India’s top shuttlers – including Lakshya Sen – were handed a challenging draw in next month’s Badminton Asia Championships with several tough opponents awaiting them in the opening rounds.The USD 500,000 individual competition will be held here from April 8 to 13.Sen, a bronze medallist at the 2021 World Championships, will open his campaign against Chinese Taipei’s Lee Chia-Hao, a finalist at the All England Championships early this month.HS Prannoy, who hasn’t been his best self since suffering a bout of Chikengunya, will face China’s Guang Zu Lu in his first match.In the men’s singles, Priyanshu Rajawat has been drawn against Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen, while Kiran George will face a qualifier.In the women’s singles, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu will begin her campaign against world No. 34 Ester Nurumi Tri Wardoyo of Indonesia, while her compatriots face stiffer challenges.Anupama Upadhyaya will take on Thailand’s former world champion Ratchanok Intanon, seeded eighth, while Malvika Bansod has been drawn against China’s Fang Jie Gao. Aakarshi Kashyap faces second seed Yue Han of China.In women’s doubles, the pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, ranked 9th, will face a qualifier in their opening match. Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra will also compete in the women’s doubles event.In men’s doubles, India will be represented by the unheralded duo of Hariharan Amsakarunan and Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi, along with Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy and Sai Pratheek K.The mixed doubles event will feature Rohan Kapoor/Ruthvika Shivani Gadde, Sathish Karunakaran/Aadya Variyath, Dhruv Kapila/Tanisha Crasto, and Ashith Surya/Amrutha Pramuthesh.
