SAARBRÜCKEN, Germany, 28 October (H.S.): The Indian badminton contingent is set for a rigorous test at the Hylo Open Super 500, with players receiving a challenging draw for the $475,000 tournament that begins on Tuesday. Both experienced players and rising stars will face formidable opponents in their opening-round matches.

In the men’s singles, 2021 World Championship bronze medalist Lakshya Sen is slated to play fifth-seeded Christo Popov of France. An all-Indian clash is on the cards as former world number one Kidambi Srikanth will compete against compatriot Kiran George.

US Open champion Ayush Shetty will face Victor Lai of Denmark, while Tharun Mannepalli has a daunting match against second-seeded Jonatan Christie of Indonesia.The women’s singles draw is equally tough. Anmol Kharb, who recently reached the semifinals of the Arctic Open Super 500, will start her campaign against Denmark’s Julie Dawall Jakobsen. Young star Unnati Hooda will play Juliana Viana Vieira of Brazil.

In other matches, Shriyanshi Valishetty is up against third-seeded Line Højmark Kjaersfeldt of Denmark, Aakarshi Kashyap will face Neslihan Arin of Turkey, and Tanya Hemanth will compete against fourth seed Lin Hsiang Ti of Chinese Taipei.

In the doubles categories, the men’s pair of Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy and Sai Pratheek K. are set to face the French duo of Christo and Toma Junior Popov. The mixed doubles team of Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde will play against Canada’s Jonathan Bing Tsan Lai and Crystal Lai in their first-round match.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar