Indias next-gen of shuttlers hope to shine at Syed Modi badminton

K. Srikanth and H.S. Prannoy will be hoping to turn around their fortunes and end the season on a high when the Syed Modi India International 2025 begins here on Tuesday, even as the next crop of Indian shuttlers will be looking to prove themselves and earn crucial ranking points.

With no top-20 player and only a smattering of foreign entries, the BWF Super 300 tournament, with an enhanced prize purse of $240,000, has seen a spate of withdrawals, including that of Dane Viktor Axelsen and Malaysia’s Sholeh Aidil, defending champion and recently crowned Australian Open winner Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty among the men and P.V. Sindhu among the women.

Prannoy, who has been battling injuries and health concerns, has not managed to go beyond the second round in 15 outings in 2025 but will still be the top-ranked Indian in the fray. Srikanth has fared better, reaching the final of the Malaysia Masters in May but failing to capitalise on that momentum since then.

Prannoy last played here in 2019 while Srikanth has won twice, both wins coming in the tournament’s previous avatar as a Grand Prix Gold event. The spotlight, however, will be on the likes of Kiran George, Priyanshu Rajawat, Meiraba Maisnam and Mithun Manjunath. Singapore’s Jia Heng Jason Teh, with a couple of Super 300 titles this year, will be looking to add another as the top seed.

Among the women, former world champion Nozomi Okuhara is on a comeback trail and will be hoping to end the season on a high, while the Indian hopes rest on the likes of Tanvi Sharma, Anmol Kharb and Unnati Hooda.

In women’s doubles, the pair of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly is back to defend its title, the top-seeded Indian pair looking to win its first World Tour title this year after a series of early exits.