All England Open Badminton Championships 2023 highlights: Both the Indians in action on day 1 of the All England Championships sailed through to the second round without too much of drama. While World No 9 HS Prannoy beat Wang Tzu Wei 21-19, 22-20 in their opener to set up an encounter with Anthony Ginting, compatriot Lakshya Sen defeated fifth seeded Chou Tien Chen 21-18, 21-19. Lakshya was a finalist last year. The 21-year-old Lakshya won men’s singles gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham but has since been searching for form after nasal surgery disrupted his progress at the end of 2022.

The rest of the Indian contingent will take the court for their opening matches on Wednesday. This includes India’s top men’s doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who will take on compatriots Krishna Prasad Garaga and Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala in their opening round game. Meanwhile, Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal pulled out of the tournament.

So far, only two Indians – Prakash Padukone in 1980 and Pullela Gopichand in 2001 – have won the prestigious All England Championship. Three Indians – Prakash Nath, Saina and Lakshya – have come close, but lost in the final.

(With inputs from agencies)