Indian Stars Aiming for Glory at 2025 German Open Badminton Tournament
by Joseph King | by Yunchu Li
What is the 2025 BWF German Open?
The 2025 German Open is an annual tournament that is part of the Badminton World Federation (BWF). It is classified as a Super 300 event and has a total prize pool of $300,000.
The main draw consists of 32 players for both Men’s Singles and Women's Singles, as well as 32-team doubles events for men’s, women’s and mixed.
Which Indian players have experienced success at the German Open?
There has been only one champion from India in the BWF German Open: 2014 Men’s Singles winner Arvind Bhat. However, plenty of other Indian players have made it to the final. In Men’s Singles, Kidambi Srikanth and Parupalli Kashyap finished as runners-up in 2015 and 2012, respectively.
The Women’s Singles event has seen two players from India make it to the final: P.V. Sindhu in 2017 and Saina Nehwal in 2010.
In the various doubles events, five different Indian teams have made it to the final over the years. The most recent of these was in 2021, when Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy lost out to Japan’s Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda in the Men’s Doubles event.
Who are the Indian players to watch in the 2025 German Open?
Below, we’ve highlighted a few players across all events that we believe are worth keeping a close eye on.
Kidambi Srikanth
One of the country’s best ever players, Kidambi Srikanth is undoubtedly going to be the main star that Indian fans will be keeping close tabs on. The 32-year-old was just the second ever male Indian player to reach the world number one ranking, which he achieved in 2018.
Ranked 45th ahead of this event. Srikanth was the last Indian player to make the final in the Men’s Singles event when he finished as runner-up to Chen Long in 2015. Fans will be eager to see him return and get another shot at taking down the title.
Priyanshu Rajawat
Rajawat is currently 37th in the world rankings, which classifies him as the current highest-ranked male Indian player taking part in this event. He’ll face off against the previously-mentioned Kidambi Srikanth in a blockbuster first round matchup!
While it may be hard for some fans to pick a winner in this match, we know this for certain: at least one player from India will be that much closer to the final for a shot at glory!
Anupama Upadhyaya
Upadhyaya comes into the 2025 German Open as the highest-ranked female Indian player sitting at 44th. She hit her career high ranking of 42nd last month so will come into this tournament in good form. Upadhyaya kicks off her tournament in the Women’s Singles against third seed Shuo Yun Sung from Taiwan.
Hariharan Amsakarunan and Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi
The highest-ranked Indian Men’s Doubles team coming into the 2025 German Open, world number 46 Amsakarunan and Rethinasabapathi will face off against a qualifier winner in the first round. This gives them a good chance at going through to the round of 16 which would then potentially set up a high-stakes showdown with the top-seeded Englishmen Ben Lane and Sean Vendy.
Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto
Competing in the Mixed Doubles event, Kapila and Crasto just might be India’s best chance at glory at the 2025 German Open. The pair comes into this tournament as the eighth seed and holding the number 30 world ranking.
They’ll kick off their tournament with an all-Indian clash in the first round against Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde in a matchup that is sure to garner a lot of attention.
