Indians face stern tests in opening round at Arctic Open Super 500

Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth will continue their quest for title this season as a strong Indian contingent competes in a tough field at the Arctic Open Super 500 badminton tournament, beginning here Tuesday.

Lakshya, runner-up at the Hong Kong Open this season, faces a stern test in the first round against fifth seed Kodai Naraoka of Japan.

Sen, a 2021 World Championship bronze medallist, will need to strike a balance between aggression and restraint to tame Naraoka, who is solid in defence and will capitalise on loose play.

Srikanth, who made a strong run to the final of the Malaysia Masters in 2025, opens against Rasmus Gemke. The veteran Indian, battling inconsistency through the season, must rely on his tactical variation, net control, and mid-court transitions to keep the Dane off balance.

Among India’s younger players, Ayush Shetty, who claimed his maiden BWF title at the US Open Super 300 this year, faces top seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in a daunting opener.

Tharun Mannepalli, fresh from a semifinal showing in the Macau Open Super 300, takes on French seventh seed Toma Junior Popov—a match that will test his composure and shot selection.

Kiran George, whose best result this year has been reaching the quarterfinals at the India Open, faces Koki Watanabe of Japan, while S Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian squares off against third seed Christo Popov of France—an uphill battle for the Indian.

In the women’s singles, Tanya Hemanth opens against Huang Ching Ping of Chinese Taipei, while Anmol Kharb meets the sixth seed Lin Hsiang of Chinese Taipei.

In the women’s doubles, Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singhi will face fifth seeds Yeung Nga Ting and Yeung Pui Lam of Hong Kong, while the mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto opens against France’s Lucas Renoir and Camille Pognante.

The younger pair of Mohit Jaglan and Lakshita Jaglan faces Brian Wassink and Debora Jille of the Netherlands.