Satwik-Chirag, PV Sindhu secure first-round byes in BWF World Championships 2023 draw | Badminton

Indian men's doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty and two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu have secured first-round byes in the BWF World Championships 2023 draw.

Scheduled to unfold in Copenhagen, Denmark from August 21 to 27, this year's BWF World Championships will showcase the prowess of the global badminton elite.

Sindhu, who clinched the women's singles world title in 2019, faces an arduous path as she's drawn against strong contenders such as Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon and Korea's top-seeded An Se Young in the top segment of the draw.

Meanwhile, the exceptional men's doubles partnership of Satwik and Chirag have been ascending the ranks. The pair attained a career-high world no.2 ranking following their victory in the Korea Open and are geared up for the competition.

Indian men's singles challenge is spearheaded by the in-form HS Prannoy, seeded second in the upcoming event. His opening clash is against Finland's Kalle Koljonen.

Additional Indian singles contenders include Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth, slated to compete against Mauritius' Georges Julien Paul and Japan's Kenta Nishimoto respectively.

Notably, Prannoy has maintained consistency over the past year, currently holding the ninth spot in the world rankings. He seized victory in the Malaysia Masters in May and secured the runner-up position in the Australian Open last week.

India will be represented by two women's doubles pairs. While Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand earned a first-round bye, Ashwini Bhat K and Shikha Gautam are set to face the Netherlands' Debora Jille and Cheryl Seinen.

The mixed doubles will see Rohan Kapoor and N Sikki Reddy go against Scotland's Adam Hall and Julie MacPherson in the opening round, and the duo of Venkat Prasad and Juhi Dewangan will contend with Germany's Jones Ralfy Jansen and Linda Efler.

In this 28th edition of the tournament, men's singles will host 64 players, women's singles will feature 48 participants, and there will be 46 teams competing in each of the three doubles events. The top 16 players from the latest world ranking will receive seedings across all five categories.

With four Indian players competing in singles and six doubles pairs vying for victory, India continues to make a strong presence in the BWF World Championships, accumulating a total of 13 medals thus far.

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