After Asian Games disappointment, PV Sindhu and Indian shuttlers eye fresh start at Arctic Open

PV Sindhu in action during the 2026 Asian Games. (Photo by Reuters) NEW DELHI: Indian badminton will look to turn the page on a disappointing Asian Games campaign when the BWF World Tour resumes with the USD 500,000 Arctic Open Super 500 in Finland on Tuesday, with the country’s two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu the main challenger.Indian shuttlers returned from the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games with just one medal and four quarter-final finishes, two medals less than the previous edition in Hangzhou. Badminton was one of the biggest disappointments, contributing three medals in Hangzhou, including gold.India ended up finishing fourth overall in the Asian Games with 85 medals, including 21 gold, but the badminton campaign left plenty of room for improvement.

Sindhu wants to follow up her triumph at the Japan Open

Sindhu, who lost a tight women’s singles quarter-final to China’s Chen Yufei at the Asian Games, will be looking for a strong response in Finland.However, the 31-year-old former world champion has had encouraging results this season. She won the Japan Open and also reached the quarterfinals of the World Championships in New Delhi.Sindhu qualified in the opening round and will be hoping to make the most of the favorable start as she looks to regain consistency on the World Tour.In the men’s singles, former world number one Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy will also be eager to rediscover their best form. Both were part of the Indian men’s team that won the bronze medal at the Asian Games but did not feature in the match.Srikanth, who reached the US Open Super 300 final this year, will take on Canada’s Brian Yang.Prannoy faces a significantly tougher opening match against fourth seed Anders Antonsen from Denmark. The 34-year-old shuttler from Kerala has struggled with consistency since last year, although he recently reached the quarter-finals of the Vietnam Open.

Young people bring a new impulse

India’s women’s singles also features several players who have enjoyed encouraging results this season.Taipei Open Super 300 winner Tanvi Sharma takes on Chinese Taipei’s Chiu Pin-Chian, while Vietnam Open Super 100 winner Isharani Baruah has drawn top seed Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand.Ashmita Chaliha, who won her first BWF World Tour title at the Korea Masters Super 300, will open the match against seventh seed Line Christophersen of Denmark.Unnati Hooda will take on China’s Han Qian Xi after making headlines at the Asian Games by stunning world number six Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia.In the men’s doubles, Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun will take on England’s Alex Green and Zach Russ. Fifth seeds Krishna Prasad Garaga and Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy will take on China’s He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu.For Indian shuttlers, the Arctic Open offers an immediate opportunity to put the disappointment of the Asian Games behind them and start the next phase of the season with renewed confidence.