Lakshya Sen and Satwik–Chirag lead India’s challenge at China Masters Super 750
Lakshya Sen and the Satwiksairaj Rankireddy–Chirag Shetty pairing headline India’s challenge at the USD 1.25 million China Masters Super 750 in China, in a report published on 2026-08-31. The tournament is being viewed by the Indian contingent as an opportunity to build momentum ahead of the Asian Games.
Sen opens his campaign against France’s newly crowned world champion Alex Lanier, a draw that follows a disappointing World Championships showing for the 24-year-old. Sen lost in the second round at the Worlds to world No. 92 Garret Tan, a result that comes after he became the first Indian man to reach an Olympic singles semi-final at Paris 2024 and after reaching the All England final earlier in the season.
Lanier’s status as reigning world champion makes the opening match one of the more high-profile contests in the men’s singles draw. The presence of Lanier in the early rounds increases the immediate difficulty of Sen’s path at the Super 750 event.
India’s other leading singles hopeful, former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth, meets Chinese Taipei’s Chi Yu-jen in the opening round. Srikanth was a finalist at the US Open Super 300 in June but has struggled for consistency since, retiring from his Canada Open match with an injury and exiting the Korea Masters in the opening round.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty enter the China Masters as the fourth seeds and remain among India’s strongest medal prospects. The pair ended a two-year wait for an international title by winning the Singapore Open earlier this year, but were eliminated in the third round of the World Championships on home soil; their first-round opponents in China are China’s Hu Ke Yuan and Lin Xiang Yi, the Orleans Masters champions this season, and Satwik’s recurring shoulder issue is noted as a continuing factor.
India’s women’s singles contingent features Unnati Hooda, Tanvi Sharma and Devika Sihag, all drawn against established opponents in the opening round. Unnati, 18, faces fifth seed Han Yue of China and arrives with three BWF World Tour titles — the Odisha Open, Abu Dhabi Masters and Odisha Masters — to her name; 17‑year‑old Tanvi meets Denmark’s Amalie Schulz, the former junior world No. 1 and youngest winner of the Taipei Open Super 300 this year; Devika plays Bulgaria’s Kaloyana Nalbantova after winning the Thailand Masters Super 300.
In doubles and mixed draws, Hariharan Amsakarunan and M R Arjun are set to face 2021 world champions Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto take on Thailand’s Tonkid and Tonrug Saeheng, and Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde will meet Chinese Taipei’s Wu Guan Xun and Lee Chia Hsin in mixed doubles.
The China Masters offers Indian players competitive match practice ahead of the Asian Games, and for Satwik and Chirag it provides valuable preparation as they head into their Asian Games title defence in Japan.