Changzhou (China): World Champion PV Sindhu will look to reassert her supremacy when she spearheads the Indian campaign at the USD 1,000,000 China Open World Tour Super 1000 badminton tournament beginning here Tuesday.
PV Sindhu won the World Championships in Basel, last month. The performance also turned around her erratic season during which she had reached the finals of only the Indonesia Open Super 1000 event.
Life after that historic gold has been all about felicitations and the Indian will now have to quickly turn her focus back on badminton as PV Sindhu remains India’s best bet at the China Open, a title she had won in 2016.
The 24-year-old from Hyderabad will begin her campaign against China’s Li Xuerui, a former Olympic gold medallist and World No.1. Interestingly, Sindhu had announced her arrival on the international scene when she had stunned the then Olympic champion Li at the China Masters in 2012.
The Chinese is currently ranked 20th but has a 3-3 record against Sindhu. The Indian had beaten Li at the Indonesia Masters earlier this year and if she can cross the opening hurdle, she is likely to face Canadian Michelle Li, who hasn’t beaten the Indian since 2014.
If everything goes well, then Sindhu’s first really challenge will be in the quarterfinals against China’s third seed and All England champion Chen Yufei.
World No. 8 Saina Nehwal, who had won the Indonesia Masters this year, will also look to put up a good show following her recovery from injuries which bogged her down this season.
Saina Nehwal will face Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan in the opening round and is expected to clash with former World No.1 and her nemesis Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals.
The Indian campaign lost a bit of sheen with the withdrawal of Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy in the men’s segment. While Srikanth’s knee injury flared up during the World Championships, Prannoy is down with dengue. Hence all eyes will be on B Sai Praneeth, who ended India’s 36-year wait to become the first Indian male shuttler to claim a medal at the World Championships. B Sai Praneeth will open against Thailand’s Suppanyu Avihingsanon and is likely to face China’s third seed Shi Yu Qi in the second round.
The tournament also marks the return of the doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who had missed the World Championships due to injuries. The duo, who had broken into the top 10, will open against Canadian combination of Jason Anthony Ho-Shue and Nyl Yakura.
In mixed doubles, Satwik will pair up with Ashwini Ponnappa and meet Praveen Jordan and Melati Daeva Oktavianti, the Indonesian sixth seeds.
PTI