India Open 2023: From PV Sindhu To Carolina Marin – Top 10 Women Stars To Watch Out

1.
Akane
Yamaguchi
(Japan)

World
No.
1
Akane
Yamaguchi
is
the
front
runner
to
claim
her
maiden
Yonex-Sunrise
India
Open
title.

With
two
consecutive
World
Championships
gold
medals
in
2021
and
2022
to
her
name,
she
is
one
of
the
only
two
Japanese
women’s
singles
players
to
win
the
coveted
tournament.

The
25-year-old’s
swift,
diligent
and
patient
style
of
play
powered
her
to
the
All
England
Open
and
Japan
Open
titles
as
well
as
the
Asian
Championships
silver
medal
last
year.

Her
dazzling
performances
have
seen
her
start
2023
with
a
bang
by
making
the
Malaysia
Open
final
and
she
will
be
keen
to
carry
forward
that
form
in
India
as
well.

2.
Chen
Yufei
(China)

Tokyo
Olympics
gold
medallist,
Chen
Yufei
arrives
in
India
with
the
hopes
of
kicking
off
the
new
year
with
her
first
Super
750
title
in
more
than
three
years.

The
World
No.
2
had
a
frustrating
2022,
having
lost
in
seven
BWF
World
Tour
finals.

Though
Yufei
prevailed
in
the
Indonesia
Masters,
she
lost
two
Super
300,
Super
500
and
Super
750
events
each
while
also
going
down
fighting
in
her
maiden
World
Championships
final
against
Akane
Yamaguchi
last
year.

However,
she
will
be
determined
to
avenge
those
defeats
and
have
her
sights
set
on
clinching
the
maiden
title
of
the
Yonex-
Sunrise
India
Open.

3.
An
Se-young
(South
Korea)

The
young
shuttler
from
South
Korea
An
Se-young
has
been
turning
heads
with
stunning
displays
on
the
BWF
circuit.

At
just
20,
she
already
has
11
BWF
World
Tour
titles
under
her
belt
and
also
five
runners-up
finishes.

Ranked
fourth
in
the
world,
Seyoung
also
secured
bronze
at
the
World
Championships
and
Asian
Championships
last
year
and
was
also
part
of
the
national
team
which
triumphed
at
the
2022
Uber
Cup.

Her
high
ceiling
and
abundance
of
talent
makes
her
one
of
the
best
young
prospects
taking
part
in
the
Yonex-Sunrise
India
Open
2023.

4.
PV
Sindhu
(India)
(Photo:
BAI)

Widely
regarded
as
one
of
India’s
most
accomplished
sporting
personalities,
PV
Sindhu
will
be
keen
on
replicating
her
heroics
from
2017
and
winning
the
Yonex-Sunrise
India
Open
for
the
second
time
in
her
career.

A
five-time
World
Championships
medallist
in
the
women’s
singles,
the
27-year-old
is
India’s
first
and
only
champion
in
the
tournament,
having
defeated
Nozomi
Okuhara
in
the
2019
finals
and
also
has
two
Olympics
medals
to
her
name.

The
current
World
No.
7
secured
the
gold
in
last
year’s
Commonwealth
Games
to
become
only
the
second
women’s
singles
player
to
win
a
full
set
of
gold,
silver
and
bronze
medals
at
the
event.

The
home
crowd
will
be
raising
the
roof
when
the
star
shuttler
takes
to
the
court
to
showcase
her
supreme
level
of
gameplay
against
the
world’s
best.

5.
Ratchanok
Intanon
(Thailand)
(Photo:
BAI)

The
2013
world
champion
has
won
the
Yonex-Sunrise
India
Open
three
times
in
her
career,
going
all
the
way
in
the
2013,
2016
and
2019
editions
of
the
tournament.

Currently
ranked
sixth
in
the
world
rankings,
she
is
the
first
Thai
singles
player
to
not
only
be
ranked
number
one
in
the
world
but
also
to
win
the
Asian
Championships.

Ratchanok
won
the
2022
Malaysia
Open
by
defeating
Chen
Yufei
in
the
final
which
was
her
first
and
only
Super
750
triumph.

The
27-year-old
will
be
eager
to
add
another
title
by
continuing
her
fine
form
in
India’s
biggest
badminton
tournament.

6.
Carolina
Marin
(Spain)
(Photo:
BAI)

The
highly
decorated
shuttler
Carolina
Marin,
who
is
one
of
the
greatest
names
in
women’s
singles
badminton,
is
anticipated
to
take
the
2023
Yonex-Sunrise
India
Open
by
storm.

The
three-time
world
champion,
Marin
also
won
the
2016
Olympic
gold
medal
and
held
the
World
No.
1
rank
for
66
consecutive
weeks.

However,
in
spite
of
winning
almost
every
major
tournament,
the
Spaniard
is
yet
to
win
India’s
prestigious
tournament
and
will
be
looking
to
be
at
her
top
game
to
win
her
first
BWF
World
Tour
title
since
the
2021
Swiss
Open.

7.
He
Bing
Jiao
(China)
(Photo:
BAI)

The
2014
Youth
Olympics
champion
He
Bing
Jio
will
be
another
Chinese
player
to
watch
out
for
in
women’s
singles
at
the
2023
Yonex-Sunrise
India
Open
after
Chen
Yufei.

The
World
No.
5
Bing
Jiao
ended
2022
on
a
high
note
by
winning
the
titles
of
Denmark
Open
and
French
Open
before
the
semi-finals-finish
in
the
year-ending
World
Tour
Finals.

The
25-year-old
couldn’t
carry
forward
the
momentum
in
2023,
losing
in
the
Round-of-32
in
the
first
tournament
of
the
year,
Malaysia
Open.

However,
Bing
Jiao,
the
two-time
World
Championships
medallist,
will
be
keen
to
regain
the
form
when
she
competes
at
the
Yonex-Sunrise
India
Open.

8.
Chen
Qing
Chen-Jia
Yi
Fan
(China)

The
World
No.
1
Chinese
duo
will
arguably
be
the
biggest
threat
in
the
women’s
doubles
competition
as
they
are
coming
into
the
2023
Yonex-Sunrise
India
Open
after
ending
the
last
year
on
a
brilliant
note,
winning
the
World
Tour
Finals
in
December.

The
in-form
pair
has
also
kickstarted
the
year
on
a
sensational
note
winning
the
Malaysia
Open.

Besides
winning
a
silver
medal
at
the
Tokyo
Olympics
and
three
gold
medals
at
the
World
Championships
(2017,
2021
and
2022),
Qing
Chen
and
Yi
Fan
have
clinched
seven
titles
together
in
2022.

9.
Nami
Matsuyama-Chiharu
Shida
(Japan)

The
deadly
combination
of
Nami
Matsuyama
and
Chiharu
Shida
have
been
impressive
since
their
young
days.

In
the
junior
circuit,
they
won
bronze
medals
at
the
World
Championships
as
well
as
Asian
Championships
together
in
2015.

The
Japanese
duo
won
the
Indonesia
Open,
Thailand
Open
and
All
England
Championships
last
year.

The
upcoming
Yonex-Sunrise
India
Open
will
be
Matsuyama
and
Shida’s
first
tournament
of
2023
as
the
World
No.
2
pair
will
aim
to
make
an
impressive
start
to
the
new
year.

10.
Pearly
Tan-Thinaah
Muralitharan
(Malaysia)

The
reigning
Commonwealth
Games
champions
Pearly
Tan
and
Thinaah
Muralitharan
are
ranked
sixth
in
the
women’s
doubles
world
rankings.

The
Malaysian
pair
clinched
the
French
Open
title
last
year
and
also
made
semi-final
appearances
in
three
tournaments.

Following
a
first-round
exit
at
the
Malaysia
Open,
the
duo
will
look
to
get
back
to
winning
ways
when
they
arrive
in
New
Delhi
this
week.