CHENNAI: Eight men’s shuttlers and a lone woman from India will be taking part in the SaarLorLux Open (Super 100) to be held from October 27 to November in Saarbrucken, Germany. According to the tournament entry list, the likes of Lakshya Sen and Ajay Jayaram are set to be in action in the men’s section while Ira Sharma is the only woman player from the country in the Super 100 event.
With a string of tournaments getting cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, some of the elite shuttlers have decided to participate in the event to get some much-needed game time. In the men’s section, World No 3 Anders Antonsen is the highest-ranked player while reigning Olympic champion and three-time world champ Carolina Marin will feature in the women’s category in Saarbrucken.
Participation of top shuttlers in the competition means players such as S Sankar Muthusamy, Anirudh Janardhanan and SS Lakshmi Priyanka find themselves in the reserve list. They might have to wait longer to make their debut in the Super 100 event.
The three shuttlers from Tamil Nadu were hopeful of getting into the main draw with the thought that the elite players would not consider the event. However, with a month to go for the tournament to go, players might even pull out, effectively giving them an outside chance. Lakshya is the defending champion in the men’s section while Li Yun of China had won the women’s title last year.
Indians in SaarLorLux Open
Men: Lakshya Sen, Subhankar Dey, Ajay Jayaram, Chirag Sen, Mithun Manjunath, Kiran George, Alap Mishra, BM Rahul Bharadwaj. Woman: Ira Sharma.