The Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2026 badminton tournament starts today in New Delhi. The event will be held at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium from January 13th to 18th. It is a very important competition on the global badminton calendar.

Leading the Indian team is star player PV Sindhu. She has won two Olympic medals. Sindhu is currently ranked 18th in the world. She had a tough season last year and was away from the court due to an injury. Her recent performance in Malaysia, where she reached the semi finals, was very encouraging. She will be eager to perform well in front of her home crowd. Other Indian women playing in the singles event are Malvika Bansod and the young talent Tanvi Sharma.

In the women’s doubles category, the Indian pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will be the main hope for the country. They will enjoy strong support from the local fans.

The men’s singles event has an interesting start for India. Two Indian players, Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty, will play against each other in the very first round. This means only one of them can move forward in the tournament. Other experienced Indian players like Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy, who have won medals at the world championship, are also participating.

For men’s doubles, all eyes will be on the world number three team of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. They won this tournament in 2022 and will try to win the title again. Another Indian pair, MR Arjun and Hariharan Amsakarunan, will also compete.

In the mixed doubles event, the Indian team will be led by Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila. They represented India at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

This tournament is especially useful for players because the same stadium will host the BWF World Championships in August. Competing here now allows them to get used to the playing conditions ahead of that major event.

The India Open is a Super 750 tournament. It is the second major event of the 2026 BWF World Tour. Many of the best players from around the world are taking part, making it a very exciting and high level competition for everyone.