Spanish Masters: From Sindhu, Srikanth to Sai Praneeth - which Indians are in action today?

Sindhu, who has recently dropped two places to be ranked 11th in the world, will have her work cut out against the agile Putri Kusuma.

FILE PHOTO: P.V. Sndhu plays a forehand against Wang Zhi Yi in the women’s singles final at the Singapore Open on July 17, 2022, in Singapore. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Two-time Olympic medallist P.V. Sindhu will be looking forward to overcoming a Putri Kusuma Wardani hurdle in her Round of 16 match at the Spanish Masters, a Super 300 tournament, on Thursday, in Madrid. The 20-year-old Indonesian defeated Sindhu at the Swiss Open last week.

Sindhu is among the 13 Indian shuttlers who will be in action at the Spanish Masters today.

While the Indian women’s singles specialist, Sindhu, who has recently dropped two places to be ranked 11th in the world, will have her work cut out against the agile Putri Kusuma, the eyes will also be on the all-India men’s singles tie between Kidambi Srikanth, a former World Championships silver medallist, and world no. 49 B. Sai Praneeth.

Both Srikanth and Praneeth, a former World Championships bronze medallist, are coming to today’s match after winning their first round matches in three-setters.

While Srikanth beat Sitthikom Thammasin, Sai Praneeth, playing his first BWF World Tour event since January, got the better of Jan Louda in the opening round.

Eyes will also be on a bunch of youngsters. Malvika Bansod has a tricky opponent to negotiate in the pre-quarterfinal as she faces top seed and former Olympic champion Carolina Marin.

Kiran Goerge, Sameer Verma and Priyanshu Rajawat in men’s singles and Ashmita Chaliha and Aakarshi Kashyap in women’s singles are the other contestants who will be in the hunt for a place each in the quarterfinals.

In doubles, the promising men’s doubles duo of Dhruv Kapila and M.R. Arjun, the winners of Maharashtra International in 2022, will be looking to hit the peak of their form at the Spanish Masters after second seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty made a surprising first-round exit.

On Thursday, Dhruv and Arjun, who returned to the court after a long injury layoff earlier this month, will be up against Japanese Shuntaro Mezak and Haruya Nishida.

In women’s doubles, qualifiers N. Sikki Reddy and Arathi Sara Sunil will be playing world no. 23 Japanese duo of Rui Hirokami and Yuna Kato.

Matches

Magnus Johannesen vs Kiran George

Putri Kusuma Wardani vs P.V. Sindhu

Sameer Verma vs Kanta Tsuneyama

Shuntaro Mezak-Haruya Nishida vs M.R. Arjun-Dhruv Kapila

Carolina Marin vs Malvika Bansod

Yeo Jia Min vs Ashmita Chaliha

Rui Hirokami-Yuna Kato vs N. Sikki Reddy-Arathi Sara Sunil

Kidambi Srikanth vs B. Sai Praneeth

Toma Junior Popov vs Priyanshu Rajawat

Aakarshi Kashyap vs Natsuki Nidaira

The live streaming of the Spanish Masters 2023 is available on BWF TV, the official YouTube channel of the Badminton World Federation.