Birmingham, March 3 (.) With PV Sindhu ruled out, India’s challenge at the All England Open Badminton Championships 2026 will be spearheaded by Lakshya Sen and the men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in Birmingham from Tuesday.
Sindhu, who was travelling to the tournament via Dubai, was stranded in transit due to the evolving situation in the Middle East and subsequently withdrew from the prestigious BWF Super 1000 event.
In her absence, India’s women’s singles campaign will be led by rising talent Unnati Hooda, who notably defeated Sindhu at the China Open last year, along with Malvika Bansod, as per Olympics.com.
In men’s singles, world No. 12 Lakshya Sen enters as India’s top-ranked shuttler. The 22-year-old had reached the final in 2022 and the semi-finals in 2024 at the All England Open and will look to mount another strong run.
The fourth-ranked men’s doubles combination of Satwiksairaj and Chirag will aim to bounce back after an early exit at the India Open in January.
India’s only women’s doubles pair in the draw is the two-time All England semi-finalist duo of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand.
In mixed doubles, Olympian Tanisha Crasto will partner Dhruv Kapila.
One of the most prestigious tournaments on the BWF World Tour calendar, the All England Open has seen only two Indian champions, Prakash Padukone (1980) and Pullela Gopichand (2001).
. VAN PRS