Competition at the Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium in Lucknow begins tomorrow and 21-year-old Sindhu will be the star attraction after her runners-up finish at Rio 2016 in August.

The top seed - beaten by Spain's Carolina Marin in the Olympic final - was expected to be joined by her compatriot Saina Nehwal at their home event.

However, the London 2012 Olympic bronze medallist has opted to skip the tournament as she recovers from a knee injury.

Sindhu will play fellow Indian Anura Prabhudesai in her first round clash.

With Nehwal, who was seeded second, absent, the biggest threat to a home victory could be Spain's third seed Beatriz Corrales, who won European Games bronze in Baku in 2015.

Fourth seeded Indonesian Fitriani, a double World Junior Championship silver medallist, could also be a contender.

In the men's competition, Thailand's top seed Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk has also withdrawn to leave second-seeded Dane Hans-Kristian Vittinghus as the one to beat.

Vittinghus, who won the Thomas Cup with Denmark last year, will open in the first round against home player Munawar Mohammed.

India's third seed Srikanth Kidambi, a double gold medallist at the Southeast Asian Games, will be hoping to make a claim alongside another Dane in Anders Antonsen.

Qualification matches will start tomorrow before the tournament kicks-off in full on January 26.

Competition will take place until January 29.