Sindhu leads charge as shuttlers battle injuries and poor form

PV Sindhu plays a return shot during the India Open recently. Pic/Getty Images

Grappling with injuries, health setbacks and poor form, Indian shuttlers will face one of their toughest challenges as they attempt to capture the All England Championships beginning here on Tuesday.

Apart from Prakash Padukone (1980) and Pullela Gopichand (2001), no Indian has managed to win the coveted title.

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India's top shuttlers will begin the tournament as rank outsiders considering PV Sindhu's injury woes, HS Prannoy's slow recovery from chikungunya and Lakshya Sen's poor form.

Sindhu will face Korea's Ga Eun Kim in the opening round, while Lakshya faces Japan's Koki Watanabe.

Prannoy will take on France's Toma Junior Popov, while the men's duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will battle Denmark's Daniel Lundgaard and Mads Vestergaard.

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