Sindhu faces nemesis AnSe-young at Denmark Open

Odense (Denmark): PV Sindhu’s quest for another BWF World Tour title will begin with one of the toughest assignments in women’s badminton, while the return of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty adds further interest to India’s campaign at the Denmark Open 2026, which gets underway on Tuesday.

The BWF Super 750 tournament will bring together a strong international field, with India banking on its established stars and emerging talents to make an impact across the singles and doubles draws.

Sindhu, who captured the Japan Open Super 750 crown earlier this year, faces world No. 1 and Olympic champion An Se-young of the Republic of Korea in the opening round. The Indian, a two-time Olympic medallist currently ranked 10th in the world, has yet to register a win against An in 10 previous meetings.

The opening-round encounter will offer an early measure of Sindhu’s ambitions in Denmark, with the Indian needing to overcome a difficult head-to-head record against one of the most dominant players in the women’s game. India’s women’s singles challenge also features Tanvi Sharma, Ashmita Chaliha, Devika Sihag and Unnati Hooda. Tanvi and Ashmita arrive with titles to their names this season, having won the Taipei Open and Korea Masters, respectively, in August.

In the men’s singles draw, Lakshya Sen will be eager to regain consistency after a season affected by injuries and fluctuating results. His runner-up finish at the All England Championships earlier this year remains a significant highlight, but the Indian faces another demanding start against world No. 3 Chou Tien-chen of Chinese Taipei.

Ayush Shetty and Kidambi Srikanth complete India’s men’s singles contingent. The men’s doubles competition will see Satwiksairaj and Chirag back on court for the first time since their quarter-final defeat at the Asian Games 2026, where they were unable to defend their title.

In women’s doubles, World Championships bronze medallists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will spearhead India’s challenge.

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The Hans India