Bengaluru, Dec 16 (PTI) India's top shuttlers will be absent but the country's leading juniors and fringe players will look to make their mark and earn a spot in the national camp when the 86th Senior National Badminton Championships begins here on Friday.

The championships will kick off with the Yonex Sunrise 77th Inter-Zonal team competitions on Wednesday, followed by the individual competition starting December 20.

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Defending men's singles champion Chirag Sen and women's singles winner Anmol Kharb will aim to retain their respective titles, as the competition is expected to be fierce at the Karnataka Badminton Association courts.

No men's singles player has managed to defend the title since Chetan Anand in 2006-07, and Saina Nehwal (2006-07 and 2017-18) is the only women's singles player to win back-to-back titles in that period.

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The team events also promise high competition, as defending champions in both men's and women's categories, Airport Authority of India and Maharashtra respectively, have failed to qualify for the Inter-Zonal championships this year after being knocked out at the zonal stage.

In the individual competition, Sen will face strong competition from world number 34 Priyanshu Rajawat, world number 37 Kiran George, last edition finalist M Tharun, and the emerging player Pranay Shettigar.

In the women's category, last edition finalist Tanvi Sharma, who recently achieved a career milestone with a maiden runner-up finish at a BWF Super 100 tournament in Odisha Masters, will be one to watch.

Experienced players such as Malvika Bansod, Aakarshi Kashyap, Unnati Hooda, former champion Anupama Upadhyaya, and rising star Rakshitha Sree will also challenge Anmol Kharb for the title.

In the doubles events, defending champions Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto (mixed doubles), as well as Shruti Mishra and Priya Devi Konjengbam (women's doubles), will look to keep their titles.

"The Senior National Championships is the pinnacle of the domestic circuit and we are looking forward to a few new stars emerging from among the young guns set to challenge their established peers," said Badminton Association of India (BAI) secretary Sanjay Mishra in a release.

"This will be the final BAI tournament of the year, it means our calendar aligns with the BWF calendar."

This is the third time Bengaluru is hosting the Senior Nationals since the turn of the century. The championships will offer a total prize purse of Rs 50 lakh, including Rs 10 lakh for the team competitions.

A live draw for both the team championships and individual events will take place on the eve of each event.

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