FILE PHOTO: For World No. 11 Lakshya, the Malaysian capital hasn’t been a happy hunting ground. He has never gone past the second round at either the Malaysia Masters or the Malaysia Open Super 1000 event. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Lakshya Sen will spearhead an Indian contingent missing some of the other big names as the action begins at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.

India’s top men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who finished runner-up at last week’s Thailand Open, double Olympic medallist P. V. Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth, youngsters Ayush Shetty and Unnati Hooda, and mixed doubles duo of Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila have all opted to skip the BWF World Tour Super 500 tournament.

For World No. 11 Lakshya, the Malaysian capital hasn’t been a happy hunting ground. He has never gone past the second round at either the Malaysia Masters or the Malaysia Open Super 1000 event.

In the first round, the 24-year-old shuttler from Almora takes on Indonesian teenager Mohd. Zaki Ubaidillah, the silver medallist from last year’s Junior World Championships held in Guwahati.

Ubaidillah is a talented player with a typical, high intensity style of badminton one can associate with his country. He has already won three BWF World Tour titles and therefore, the World No. 43 could provide a stiff challenge to the Indian in their maiden meeting.

If Lakshya makes it to the quarterfinals in Kuala Lumpur for the first time in his career, he is likely to meet World No. 4 Christo Popov, an opponent he would have faced in the recent Thomas Cup semifinals against France had the Indian not been forced to sit out due to an elbow issue.

In the men’s draw, Lakshya is joined by his Thomas Cup 2026 bronze medal-winning teammates H.S. Prannoy and Kiran George — both missed last week’s Thailand Open — and Tharun Mannepalli.

Prannoy won his only BWF World Tour title at the same competition in 2023. For the 33-year-old Indian, a tough test awaits this time around in sixth-seeded Japanese Kodai Naraoka, who has a 6-1 head-to-head advantage over Prannoy.

The women’s singles field features as many as six Indians — Devika Sihag, Tanvi Sharma, Anmol Kharb, Malvika Banson, Isharani Baruah and Tanya Hemanth — with the possibility of the number increasing to eight if Aakarshi Kashyap and Ashmita Chaliha win their qualification matches.

Eyes will be on Tanvi, the Junior World Championships silver medallist and the highest-ranked Indian woman in the absence of Sindhu and Unnati, as she meets Thailand’s Pitchamon Opatniputh in her opening match. The 17-year-old Indian had beaten the same opponent during her stunning run to last year’s US Open final. If it is a long and physical battle, it will be interesting to see how the youngster manages her stamina, something which is a work in progress at this stage of her career.

Nineteen-year-old Anmol will also be in focus after she squandered a 11-2 lead in the decider against Chinese World No. 4 Chen Yu Fei during a first-round clash in Bangkok last week. The Indian lost 21-19, 13-21, 18-21. Anmol, who came into the limelight by winning crucial matches in a historic triumph for the women’s team at the Asian Team Championships in 2024, takes on eighth-seeded Dane Line Kjaersfeldt in her campaign opener.

In men’s doubles, Hariharan Amsakarunan and M. R. Arjun, the country’s No. 2 pair, are the only Indians in the draw and they meet Christo and his brother Toma Junior, the seventh seeds in the first round.

Ashwini Bhat K-Shikha Gautam, and Rutaparna Panda and her sister Swetaparna are the two Indian pairs in the women’s doubles field as World No. 30 Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand continue to stay out of action due to injury issues. Similarly, in mixed doubles too, there are two Indian duos in the draw — Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde, and Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh.

With an eye on the World Championships (August 17-23) at home and the Asian Games (September 19 - October 4), the next three months are critical for Indian shuttlers in terms of finding form and managing injuries.

Published on May 18, 2026