HS Prannoy & Unnati Hooda Eye Strong Runs As India Start Taipei Open Campaign

Published 27 July 2026 · politics

HS Prannoy & Unnati Hooda Eye Strong Runs As India Start Taipei Open Campaign Published By, Last Updated: July 27, 2026, 19:58 IST HS Prannoy

HS Prannoy & Unnati Hooda Eye Strong Runs As India Start Taipei Open Campaign Published By, Last Updated: July 27, 2026, 19:58 IST HS Prannoy, Unnati Hooda lead India's challenge at Taipei Open Super 300. Badminton stars aim for consistency, face difficult draws. Rapid Read HS Prannoy will feature at the Taipei Open (Picture credit: AFP) Seasoned campaigner HS Prannoy and rising star Unnati Hooda will lead India’s challenge at the Taipei Open Super 300 badminton tournament, with both looking to build consistency when the competition starts on Tuesday. Seventh seed Prannoy, a bronze medallist at both the 2023 Asian Games and World Championships, starts his campaign against Japan’s Minoru Koga. Third seed Unnati, meanwhile, will face a qualifier in the women’s singles round of 32.

World No. 36 Prannoy has advanced beyond the opening round just three times this season, while World No. 24 Unnati, despite winning the Polish International, has endured a string of first-round exits. Asian Games-bound Tharun Mannepalli, a 2023 Games gold medallist, will have a difficult outing against eighth seed Jeon Hyeok Jin of Korea. Mithun Manjunath will take on Jason Gunawan in his opener, while S. Dayanand, who finished runner-up at the Saint Denis Reunion Open in May and claimed bronze at the Uganda International Challenge, will start his campaign against Singapore’s Eogene Ewe. Kiran George, who won the Odisha Masters Super 100 last December, will face local player Wang Po-Wei. In the women’s singles, eighth seed Devika Sihag will face South Korea’s Park Ga Eun, while Tanya Hemanth takes on Chinese Taipei’s Hsu Wen Chi.

An all-Indian first-round clash between former world junior champion Tasnim Mir and Tanvi Sharma is also among the standout matches. Top seed Chiu Pin-Chian of Chinese Taipei opens her campaign against India’s Isharani Baruah, while Shriyanshi Valishetty faces a difficult first-round test against Thailand’s fourth seed Supanida Katethong. Ashmita Chaliha has also been handed a tough draw and will take on second seed Lin Hsiang Ti of Chinese Taipei. In the men’s doubles, Bhargav Ram Arigela and Viswa Tej Gobburu will start their campaign against fourth-seeded Americans Chen Zhi Yi and Presley Smith in the opening round. In the mixed doubles, Ishaan Bhatnagar and Shruti Mishra will open against Chinese Taipei’s Tsai Fu Cheng and Sung Yu-Hsuan, while Dhruv Rawat and Maneesha K face Thailand’s Supak Jomkoh and Ornnicha Jongsathaporn in the first round.