Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty to lead Indian challenge at Hong Kong Super 500

Fresh off their bronze medal triumph at the World Championships, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are set to lead India’s charge at the Hong Kong Super 500 badminton tournament starting Tuesday. Ranked No. 3 in the world, the pair delivered a stellar show in Paris to secure their second Worlds bronze and have been India’s most reliable performers this season, with multiple semifinal appearances on the BWF Tour in India, Malaysia, China, and Singapore.Seeded eighth, Satwik and Chirag will begin their campaign against Chinese Taipei’s Chiu Hsiang Chieh and Wang Chi-Lin.Meanwhile, two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu—who impressed at the Worlds with a dominant win over China’s Wang Zhi Yi before bowing out in the quarterfinals—will aim to carry that momentum forward when she opens against Denmark’s Line Christophersen.US Open champion Ayush Shetty, one of the rising stars this year, has a tough first-round clash against China’s Lu Guang Zu.Former world No. 6 Lakshya Sen, still searching for rhythm after his fourth-place finish at the Paris Olympics, will look to regain confidence when he takes on Wang Tzu Wei of Chinese Taipei.The 24-year-old has been plagued by narrow losses and niggles, and suffered a first-round exit at the Worlds against top seed Shi Yu Qi.HS Prannoy, who went down fighting against Denmark’s Anders Antonsen in Paris, faces another stiff challenge against Japan’s fifth seed Kodai Naraoka in the first round.In women’s singles, Anupama Upadhyaya meets fourth seed Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan, while Rakshitha Ramraj runs into Thailand’s former world champion and fifth seed Ratchanok Intanon.Among doubles, the men’s pair of Hariharan Amsakarunan and Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi and the women’s duo of Rutaparna and Swetaparna Panda will be in action.In mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, quarterfinalists at the Worlds, face Chinese Taipei’s Chen Cheng Kuan and Hsu Yin-Hui, while Rohan Kapoor and Gadde Ruthvika Shivani take on second seeds Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping of China.The qualifiers feature an all-Indian clash between former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth and Tharun Mannepalli. Srikanth remains the only Indian to have reached a Super 500 final this year, finishing runner-up at the Malaysia Masters.Kiran George will take on Malaysia’s Cheam June Wei, while S Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian faces Canada’s Wang Yue Hang.