Indian badminton stars PV Sindhu, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, and Chirag Shetty have been given first-round byes in the upcoming BWF World Championships 2023, media reports said.The draw ceremony took place on Thursday at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, setting the stage for the highly anticipated tournament scheduled to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, from August 21 to 27.Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and the mens doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty secured first-round byes in the championship draw, offering them a strategic advantage in the early stages of the tournament.PV Sindhu, who clinched the womens singles world title in 2019, faces a challenging path as the draw places her alongside tough opponents, including Thailands Ratchanok Intanon and South Koreas top seed An Se Young.Indian Players 🇮🇳 among the top 16 seedsMS – H S Prannoy (9) Lakshya Sen (11)WS – PV Sindhu (16)MD – Satwik & Chirag (2)WD – Teresa & Gayatri (15)#bwfworldchampionships #BWFWorldTour pic.twitter.com/26DjhPb89f— Half Wirsung🌱 INACTIVE (@get_set_go_bro) August 10, 2023Among the Indian contingent, PV Sindhu is the sole representative in the womens singles category.The mens doubles partnership of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty holds strong potential, marked by their recent achievements, including a career-best world No. 2 ranking. Their success at the Korea Open has propelled them into the spotlight as they enter the BWF World Championships in top form.Indian shuttlers aim for glory in singles, doubles competitions in BWF World ChampionshipsThe mens singles segment will be spearheaded by the in-form HS Prannoy, seeded second for the event. Prannoy is scheduled to face Kalle Koljonen of Finland in the first round.Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth, the other Indian contenders in the mens singles category, will commence their campaigns against Georges Julien Paul of Mauritius and Kenta Nishimoto of Japan, respectively.The womens doubles event will feature Indias participation through two pairs. While Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand secured a first-round bye, Ashwini Bhat K and Shikha Gautam will face off against Debora Jille and Cheryl Seinen of the Netherlands.Mixed doubles action will see Rohan Kapoor and N Sikki Reddy facing the Scottish pair of Adam Hall and Julie MacPherson, while Venkat Prasad and Juhi Dewangan will contest Jones Ralfy Jansen and Linda Efler of Germany in their opening match.64 shuttlers will compete in mens singles and 48 in womens singles in the BWF World Championships. A total of 46 teams will vie for victory in each of the three doubles events, with the 16 highest-ranked players in the latest world rankings receiving seedings in all five categories to enhance the tournaments competitiveness.Four Indians will compete in the singles competition, and six pairs will compete in the doubles competition at the 28th BWF World Championships.
