Zenia D'CunhaJan 6, 2025, 08:10 PMOpen Extended ReactionsThe 2025 badminton season is all set to begin with a bang on Tuesday with the Malaysia Open Super 1000 -- the highest tier of the BWF Tour.Editor's Picks2 RelatedFrom an Indian perspective, this season marks a new era, transitioning after the Paris Olympics with new foreign coaches and a renewed goal of stepping up on the BWF titles pyramid. Winning big tour titles should be the new year resolution for most Indian badminton players.The only Indians to do it consistently are Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. Tan Kim Her -- the man instrumental in putting this pair together back in the day -- is back as their doubles coach, making this is the most intriguing narrative to watch out for in 2025.In singles, the return of HS Prannoy after a long injury layoff, Lakshya Sen's development from dangerous floater to consistent player and the bench strength of women's badminton in the absence of PV Sindhu will be the big storylines.Here's a look at the Indians' draw and chances at the first tournament of 2025:Men's SinglesAll eyes in men's singles will be on Lakshya Sen, the one with most potential who must make a bigger, and consistent, leap in 2025.This time last year, the 22-year-old was languishing in a first-round losing slump. In 2025, he is coming off a Super 300 title at Syed Modi and a third-place finish at the inaugural King's Cup, an invitational badminton tournament put together by the legendary Lin Dan in China.As discussed earlier, Lakshya's ability is without question, but what he needs is the mental wherewithal to take the next step -- big titles -- which will only come with consistent performances every week. The highest ranked Indian at world No 12, he will look to get back into the top 8, for seedings and better draws at big events.In Malaysia, he starts against Chi Yu Jen in what is their first meeting. A win will likely pit him against fourth seed Viktor Axelsen in a repeat of the Olympic semifinal which the Indian lost from a winning position. In a throwback to older times, he's in the same section as fellow Indians HS Prannoy and Priyanshu Rajawat.HS Prannoy. MADS CLAUS RASMUSSEN/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty ImagesPrannoy is making his badminton comeback after an almost four-month layoff. The 32-year-old, a top-10 player till the Olympics, has now fallen to world no. 26 after taking a break to recover from a series of health setbacks including a bout of chikungunya right before the Olympics. He has worked hard on his fitness and physicality in the time away and will look to start afresh in 2025, not having played since Paris 2024.Prannoy starts his campaign against young Canadian Brian Yang, in what is their first meeting. While some rustiness to be expected, it's hard to predict a path ahead for Prannoy but a win could bring an even bigger challenge in the second round -- seventh seed Li Shi Feng. The Chinese starts his campaign against another Indian, Priyanshu Rajawat who has been promoted from reserves.One of these will be the quarterfinalist from this section, talk about a tough sector.Men's DoublesSatwik-Chirag, now seeded seventh, are last year's finallists at the Malaysia Open and will be keen to go one step further in their new Coach Tan era.It'll be a challenge this time though, as they are they haven't had much match practise lately. The duo has played only once since the Olympics -- at the season-ending China Masters Super 750 -- where they gave a very good account of themselves by reaching the semis. Yet, the time away and Satwik's injury layoff showed itself in their game. They would have had time with Tan to get into a rhythm and work on areas of improvement, which will now be tested on court.In Malaysia, they have a relatively simpler path, opening against Ming Che Lu and Tang Kai Wei in the first round (1-0 lead.) The other seeds in their section are fourth seeds Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto, whom they lead 4-0 and has beaten at the Olympics too.Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. Alex Pantling/Getty ImagesIf things go well, the first big test will be the semifinals where they could face old rivals and Olympic vanquishers Aaron Chia and Soh Wooh Yik or Chinese second seeds Liang Wei Kang and Wang Chang, who beat them in the final last year.Irrespective of the final matchups though, Sat-Chi will be the ones to watch out for in the tournament -- fit again and raring to prove that the second half of 2024 was an injury-driven blip.Women's SinglesThere is no PV Sindhu, who recently got married, in the draw but it's heartening to see three Indians names at the Super 1000 level -- Malvika Bansod, Aakarshi Kashyap, and Anupama Upadhyaya. While they are still ranked on the fringes of the top 32, they have been consistently making BWF main draws last year and will look for a step further -- deep runs with upset wins this year.World no. 32 Malvika, who had a solid quarterfinal run at her last Super 1000 (admittedly just after the Olympics), will start against Goh Jin Wei. The experienced Malaysian has beaten her in their only meeting.Malvika Bansod. Photo by STRINGER/AFP via Getty ImagesWorld no. 46 Anupama faces a tough opener against Thailand's eighth-seeded Pornpawee Chochuwong (first meeting) while world no 47 Aakarshi takes on Denmark's Julie Dawall Jakobsen (trails 0-2.)It's tough to chart their path ahead given how competitive the top tier of women's singles is but fact os that crossing the first-round hurdle would be the small goal right now.Women's DoublesAnother section where India has a sizeable representation this time with three pairs, two of them seeded, as the rest of the field underwent a pairing overhaul after the Olympics.Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, now seeded sixth after their end of the year exploits, will wants to start the season strong after their Syed Modi title and BWF World Tour Finals appearance. They take on Thailand's Ornnicha Jongsathapornparn and Sukitta Suwachai (first meeting) in their opener. The other seeds in their quarter are #3 Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan, old nemeses who they beat in stunning fashion at the BWF Tour Finals last month. Jia Yi Fan, one half of China's absolutely dominant pair, is also in this section with new partner Zhang Shu Xian.Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand. Zac Goodwin/PA Images via Getty ImagesTanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa, seeded eighth and coming off a title defence late last year at Guwahati Masters Super 100, start against Chiharu Shida, who is playing with a new partner in Misaki Matsutomo. Shida is a veteran who has often troubled the Indians but this time the seeds could get the better of the newer combination. The Panda sisters (Rutuparna and Swetaparna) have a tough opener against the experienced Aimsaard sisters (Benyapa and Nuntakarn).All the Indian matches are first meetings so there is no head-to-head to go by but the hope would be of a good run in a field that is relatively open at this time of the season.Mixed DoublesOnce again there are three Indian pairs in mixed doubles.World no. 34 Sathish Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath, who have started making BWF main draws regularly and can grow into a good combination. They will take on Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh (WR 54) in an all-Indian first round match.Tanisha Crasto, who started off as more of a mixed doubles player till injury to her partner Ishaan Bhatnagar, is back in the draw with Dhruv Kapila. They've slowly been climbing up the ranks (world no. 69 now) and had reached the final of the Syed Modi together. They start against Ko Sung Hyun and Eom Hye Won and a win will put them in collision course with seventh seed Cheng Xing and Zhang Chi of China.