The Indian contingent faces a demanding start at the Denmark Open 2026, with two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu handed a first-round clash against world No. 1 and defending champion An Se-young, and Lakshya Sen pitted against third seed Chou Tien Chen.
Denmark Open, a BWF World Tour Super 750 event, carrying a prize purse of USD 950,000, runs from October 13-18 at the Jyske Bank Arena (SJF Bank Arena) in Odense, Denmark.
Sindhu Faces An Se-Young
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu faces the most daunting task of the draw, opening her women’s singles campaign against reigning world champion and world No. 1 An Se-young of South Korea.
Sindhu, a former world champion who lifted the Japan Open Super 750 title in July, arrives with mixed form after a quarterfinal exit at last week’s Arctic Open to Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon. She has never beaten An Se-young in 10 prior meetings, making the opener one of the toughest possible draws for the 31-year-old.
On the other hand, An Se-young, who won the 2025 Denmark Open title and has been in dominant form (including World Championships gold and a successful Asian Games defence), enters as the clear favourite.
Sen Draws Chou Tien-Chen
In men’s singles, Commonwealth Games gold medallist Lakshya Sen seeks a return to form after a round-of-32 exit in the individual event at the Asian Games (following a back injury that has affected consistency). He faces veteran Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in another high-profile first-round matchup.
Sen, an All England finalist earlier this year and the only Indian men’s singles player to reach an Olympic semifinal (Paris 2024), will need his best game against the experienced third seed.
Full List Of Indian First-Round Opponents
Women’s Singles
PV Sindhu vs An Se-young (South Korea)
Tanvi Sharma vs Natsuki Nidaira (Japan)
Ashmita Chaliha vs Kaloyana Nalbantova (Bulgaria)
Devika Sihag vs Pornpawee Chochuwong (Thailand)
Unnati Hooda vs Han Qian Xi (China)
Tanvi (Taipei Open winner in August) and Ashmita (Korea Masters Super 300 champion) bring recent title form, while Unnati impressed by reaching the Asian Games quarterfinals.
Men’s Singles
Lakshya Sen vs Chou Tien Chen (Chinese Taipei, 3rd seed)
Ayush Shetty vs Alwi Farhan (Indonesia)
Kidambi Srikanth vs Arnaud Merkle (France)
Ayush Shetty, who upset then-world No. 1 Shi Yuqi at the World Championships and won the 2025 US Open Super 300, faces Farhan in a rematch of their Worlds pre-quarterfinal. Srikanth returns to the venue where he won the 2017 title.
Men’s Doubles
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (5th seeds) vs He Ji Ting/Ren Xiang Yu (China)
The former world No. 1 pair, winners of the Singapore Open Super 750 in May and the China Masters last month, look to rebound from a first-round Asian Games exit.
Women’s Doubles
Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand vs Yan Fei Chen/Hsieh Pei Shan (Chinese Taipei)
Rutaparna Panda/Swetaparna Panda vs Bao Li Jing/Cao Zi Han (China, 6th seeds)
Treesa and Gayatri, bronze medallists at the recent World Championships, lead the women’s doubles challenge after reaching the Asian Games quarterfinals.
Where to watch Denmark Open 2026 badminton live in India
Live streaming of Denmark Open 2026 badminton matches will be available on FanCode. Live telecast of the Denmark Open will not be available on any TV channel in India.
