China Masters 2026: Lakshya Sen to lead the Indian challenge

Begin typing your search above and press return to search. Home BadmintonBadmintonChina Masters 2026: Lakshya Sen to lead the Indian challenge - PreviewLakshya will face Canada's reigning world medalist Victor Lai in the opening round.XLakshya Sen in action. (Photo credit: BAI)Lakshya Sen will look to bounce back from the disappointment of his early exit at the World Championships, but a tough opener awaits him when he spearheads the Indian challenge at the China Masters Super 750, starting on Tuesday. Sen, who became the first Indian male shuttler to reach an Olympic semifinal in Paris two years ago before finishing fourth, will face reigning world medalist Victor Lai in his opening match. The Indian has enjoyed some notable results this season, including a runner-up finish at the All England Championships, and will be keen to regain consistency against a strong field after a shock second-round loss to world number 92 Garret Tan at the Worlds. Former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth, meanwhile, faces Chinese Taipei's Chi Yu-jen after reaching the US Open Super 300 final in June, where he finished runner-up. His campaign on the Tour after that has been patchy. It was interrupted by an injury-forced retirement due to injury at the Canada Open before he suffered a first-round exit at the Korea Masters. In men's doubles, fourth seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will be among India's biggest hopes. The former world No. 1 pair ended a two-year wait for an international title by winning the Singapore Open earlier this year. They will open against Malaysia's Junaidi Arif and Kang Khai Xing.Satwik has been dealing with a recurring shoulder issue. The duo returned to action after missing a few events only to make a third-round exit from the Worlds at home. The Indian pair will hope for a deeper run as it builds up to the Asian Games title defence in Japan. India's young women's singles contingent will also be under the spotlight, with young prospects Unnati Hooda, Tanvi Sharma and Devika Sihag carrying the national flag. Unnati, the 18-year-old from Rohtak, faces Kim Ge Eun of South Korea. Meanwhile, Tanvi takes on Denmark's Amalie Schulz.The 17-year-old from Hoshiarpur climbed to the junior world No. 1 ranking last year, a run that included a silver medal in singles and a bronze in the mixed team event at the 2025 World Junior Championships.She underlined her rapid rise this year by becoming the youngest-ever winner of the Taipei Open Super 300. Devika, meanwhile, will square off against Bulgaria's Kaloyana Nalbantova. The 21-year-old from Haryana, currently ranked inside the world's top 45, arrives on the back of a title-winning run at the Thailand Masters Super 300. Among others, the men's pair of Hariharan Amsakarunan and M R Arjun faces the Chinese combination of Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi, the 2025 world medalists. In mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto will take on the Thai pairing of Tonkid and Tonrug Saeheng, while Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde will face Chinese Taipei's Wu Guan Xun and Lee Chia Hsin.(With Inputs from )BadmintonLakshya SenIndian SportsNext StorySimilar Posts