After Lakshya Sen started off with a win against Malaysia’s Teck Zhi Soo in the Australian Open qualifiers, his progress into the knockout stages was halted by Thailand’s Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk. Mixed doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Swastiksairaj Rankireddy also lost their match.

PV Sindhu, who reached the semis of the Indian Open and the Singapore Open, will aim to end her title drought this season by going the distance in the upcoming Australian Open. Meanwhile, compatriot Sameer Verma will be eyeing revenge against Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia in the first round.

Srikanth Kidambi has surpassed women's single player Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan to top the chart of the highest earners in badminton for 2017, earning a total of over ₹ 95 lakhs($147,847.50). Sayaka Sato of Japan stands third overall followed by Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei in the fourth position.

On the back of winning two successive Superseries titles himself, Kidambi Srikanth believes that the Indian contingent have a chance of winning a medal at the World Championship next month. The World No.8 also appreciated the contributions of Indonesian coach Mulyo Handoyo in his recent success.