Daunting challenge on cards for Indian shuttlers : All England Open Badminton Championship

New Delhi : The prestigious All England Open Badminton Championship is all set to start on March 14, where the top badminton players from around the world will gather here at the Utilita Arena for one of the most prestigious trophies.

With 155 matches and over 50 hours of badminton action to enjoy, the Championships will serve up to six days from March 16-20 with plenty of intriguing ties on offer. A total of 128 singles competitors and 96 teams are competing in the event.

Though India have clinched the bronze at the Asian Mixed team event, it is hard to predict what will be India's chances at the prestigious event with a tricky draw, where none of the Indian singles players are seeded.

Men's Singles: All eyes will be on last year's finalist Lakshya Sen, who will begin his campaign against fifth seed Taipei shuttler Chou Tien Chen, against whom he is yet to register a win. Sen could have a face-off with HS Prannoy, which will be their eighth meeting in the last one year, as the latter has been drawn in the same quarter as Sen. Another Indian, Kidambi Srikanth starts against Popov and has a potential clash with Japanese seventh seed Kodai Naraoka in the second round.

Women's singles: Sindhu had a forgetful start of the year after returning from a five-month injury layoff. Considered as a Player of major event, Sindhu hasn't reached the All-England final in her career so far. The ace shuttler begins against Zhang Yi Man. If she wins, she will play fifth seed and familiar foe He Bing Jiao, whom she defeated in Tokyo Olympics in a bronze medal match. The 2015 finalist, Nehwal, will begin against China's Han Yue, who has a 3-1 record against the Indian. A win will set up a clash against sixth seed Wang Zhi Yi.

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