Kidambi to make badminton return during Macau Open 2024 tournament after four-month gap

New Delhi [India], September 24 (ANI): Former World number one Kidambi Srikanth will be making his return to badminton during the Macau Open competition starting on Tuesday as a part of 23-member Indian contingent.

Srikanth, 31, has not featured in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) tour circuit since his injury during the Singapore Open back in May. Now, as per Olympics.com, he returns as a sixth-seed for the BWF Super 300 event.

The 2021 World Championships medalists made it to the semifinals of the Swiss Open in March this year but struggled to reach beyond pre-quarterfinals in nine other tournaments played this year.

Talented shuttler Malvika Bansod, who downed the Paris Olympics 2024 bronze medallist Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia to reach the last eight stage of the China Open just last week, has pulled out of the tournament.

Third seed Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly will be India’s biggest hope in women’s doubles competition during the tournament, having reached the semifinals of Singapore Open BWF Super 750 event earlier this June. But they are yet to win a title this year.

Commonwealth Games medalists N Sikki Reddy and B Sumeeth Reddy will spearhead India’s charge in mixed doubles competition.

Prominent Indian stars from the Paris Olympics 2024, including two-time Olympic medallist, PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen, will not be playing in the Macau Open, which will conclude on Sunday.

Macau Open 2024: Indian badminton squad

Men’s singles: Mithun Manjunath, Sameer Verma, Ayush Shetty, Kidambi Srikanth [6], S Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian, Chirag Sen; Qualifiers: Tharun Mannepalli, Aryamann Tandon, Alap Mishra, Darshan Pujari

Women’s singles: Anupama Upadhyaya, Tanya Hemanth, Tasnim Mir, Devika Sihag, Isharani Baruah

Women’s doubles: Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand [3], Apoorva Gahlawat/Sakshi Gahlawat; Qualifiers: Ruthvika Shivani Gadde/N Sikki Reddy

Mixed doubles: B Sumeeth Reddy/N Sikki Reddy, Rohan Kapoor/Ruthvika Shivani Gadde

Men’s doubles: N/A.