Stranded Sindhu’s participation uncertain for All England Championships; Lakshya among others set for stiff fight
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu’s participation at the All England Championships in Birmingham remains uncertain after being stranded in Dubai amid the US and Israeli bombing of Iran and the resultant airspace closure in the Gulf region.
Sindhu and her team, including Indonesian coach Irwansyah Adi Pratama have been stuck in the city since Saturday, and had a narrow escape after an explosion went off close to where they were stationed.
Following the incident, they were moved to a more secure location as tension rose across the region.
Sindhu is scheduled to face Supanida Katethong of Thailand in the opening round of the Super 1000 event on Tuesday.
BWF is also keeping a close watch, maintaining “real-time oversight of the situation and standing ready to assist delegations experiencing delays or route changes.”
“This includes reviewing and preparing potential contingencies within the competition schedule should any players experience delayed arrival,” it said.
While Sindhu’s participation remains uncertain, some of her fellow shuttlers have managed to reach Birmingham via alternate routes of Singapore and Africa. However, it remains to be seen how the long and taxing travel will impact their preparations.
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Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty have arrived without any travel issues and will face world No. 1 Shi Yu Qi of China and Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan, respectively, in the opening round.
For Lakshya, a former semifinalist and runner-up here, it will be another tough test against Shi, against whom he has lost four of his five previous meetings against the Chinese.
Ayush, the US Open Super 300 champion, will look to turn the tide against Farhan, having lost three of their five encounters, including the most recent one at the Indonesia Masters in January.
In women’s singles, Malvika Bansod faces a stiff opening challenge against Tokyo Olympics champion Chen Yufei of China, while Unnati Hooda, whose flight was cancelled on Sunday, forcing her to travel via Africa, will need to overcome jet lag when she takes on Thailand’s eighth seed Pornpawee Chochuwong in her opener.
In men’s doubles, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, a former world No. 1, will spearhead India’s challenge against Malaysia’s Kang Khai Xing and Aaron Tai in the first round.
The women’s doubles pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, who registered back-to-back semifinal finishes at the event in 2022 and 2023, will face Japan’s Sayaka Hirota and Ayako Sakuramoto.
In mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto are up against Malaysia’s Hoo Pang Ron and Cheng Su Yin, while Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde will meet fifth seeds Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue of France.
Prakash Padukone (1980) and Pullela Gopichand (2001) remain the only Indians to have won the All England title. Besides them, only Saina Nehwal (2015 runner-up) and Lakshya (2022 runner-up) have come close in recent years.
(With inputs from PTI)
Published on Mar 02, 2026