Youngsters Ayush Shetty and Tanvi Sharma will lead India`s challenge at the USD 250,000 Orleans Masters Super 300 badminton tournament beginning here on Tuesday after senior shuttler HS Prannoy pulled out due to a shoulder injury. Prannoy, who was originally slated to face top seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in the opening round, was forced to withdraw after experiencing shoulder pain during the Swiss Open in Basel last week. While the cause of his discomfort was unclear initially, the Indian had decided to pull out of his match against Japan`s Koki Watanabe to avoid aggravating the injury.
“The shoulder pain developed after travelling to the Swiss Open. We didn`t know the reason then, so I decided to withdraw and fly back,” Prannoy told PTI. “After a scan it showed a slight tear. It is a minor thing and hopefully I should be okay soon,” added the seasoned pro, who is targeting a return at the Asian Championships to be held from April 7 to 12 in Ningbo, China. While Prannoy will miss the event, the rest of the Indian contingent will look to make a deep run in the tournament.
All eyes will be on eighth seed and world No. 25 Ayush Shetty, who won the US Open Super 300 last year, as he opens his campaign against Lee Chia Hao of Chinese Taipei. Former world No. 1 and currently ranked 30th, Kidambi Srikanth, who reached the finals of the Malaysia Masters Super 500 and Syed Modi International Super 300 in 2025, will face Denmark`s Magnus Johannesen. Tharun Mannepalli, fresh from a quarterfinal finish at last week`s Swiss Open, takes on Chinese Taipei`s Wang Tzu Wei in his opening game.
World No. 42 Kiran George, who stunned Singapore`s former world champion Loh Kean Yew at the Swiss Open, will face third seed Kenta Nishimoto of Japan. In women`s singles, Tanvi Sharma, the silver medallist at last year`s BWF Junior World Championships, will take on Thailand`s Supanida Katethong, while Malvika Bansod will continue her quest for glory after returning to action from a major injury when she faces Sung Shuo Yun of Chinese Taipei. Bansod recently recovered from a major left knee injury that sidelined her for approximately seven to nine months between 2025 and early 2026.
Rakshitha Sree Santhosh Ramraj will meet Japan`s Manami Suizu, while Anmol Kharb will be up against Turkey`s Neslihan Arin. In women`s doubles, Devika Sihag and Isharani Baruah will take on a pair coming through the qualifiers. Sihag had clinched her maiden BWF World Tour title at the Thailand Masters Super 300 last month, while Baruah had reached the quarterfinals at the same event. The men`s doubles pair of Hariharan Amsakarunan and M R Arjun, who formed their partnership last year, will face the Chinese Taipei duo of Lai Po Yu and Tsai Fu Cheng.
The Indian pair had won the Al Ain Masters Super 100, Turkiye International Challenge and Telangana India International Challenge titles in 2025. In women`s doubles, Ashwini Bhat K and Shikha Gautam will be up against the fourth-seeded Japanese pair of Rui Hirokami and Sayaka Hobara. In mixed doubles, the Indian challenge will feature the pairs of Rohan Kapoor and Gadde Ruthvika Shivani, and Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, who had reached the quarterfinals of the 2025 BWF World Championships held in Paris.
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