Saina, Praneeth pull out, Sindhu to lead in Japan
TOKYO: Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal, who won a bronze medal at the Asian Games, has pulled out of the $700,000 Japan Open that starts here on Tuesday. B Sai Praneeth, who won the 2017 Singapore Open, also withdrew from the BWF World Tour Super 750 tournament. The reasons for the pullouts are not known.
Meanwhile, after adding a historic silver in Jakarta to her collection, PV Sindhu would be desperate to break the final jinx that has plagued her for a while.
Sindhu has been outstanding this season, winning silver medals in all major events this year — Commonwealth Games, World Championships and Asian Games. The medals are to be cherished but a hectic schedule leaves her with very little time. Add to it, the questions that have been staring at the Olympic silver medallist for not being able to go the full distance in summit clashes. Heading into the Asian circuit events, which include China and Korea, Sindhu would look to put these questions to rest.
The third seeded 23-year-old begins her campaign against Japan’s Sayaka Takahashi. She is expected to reach the quarterfinal where she will likely face either thrice world champion Carolina Marin or the formidable Akane Yamaguchi of Japan.
Among the men, K Srikanth and HS Prannoy will look to get over the disappointing campaigns at World Championships and Asian Games. Former world No 1 Srikanth, whose best finish in 2018 was Malaysia Open semis, will face China’s Huang Yuxiang. Prannoy will take on Jonathan Christie, the Indonesian who won the Asian Games gold in August.
Sameer Verma, who clinched the Hyderabad Open Super 100 tournament on Sunday, will look to continue his good run when he faces Korea’s Lee Dong Keun.
In men’s doubles, Commonwealth Games silver medallists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who also won at Hyderabad, will square off against third seeded Japanese Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda.