Sindhu aims high; Saina, Praneeth out
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 career 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 — the 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 marquee 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, Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy will look to get over the disappointing campaigns at the World Championships and Asian Games and go deep into the draw.
Srikanth, a former world No 1 whose best finish this season has been a semi-final appearance at the Malaysia Open, will face China’s Huang Yuxiang. Prannoy will take on Jonathan Christie, the Indonesian who earned his country a maiden 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, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who also won at Hyderabad, will square off against third seeded Japanese Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda.
Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy will meet Malaysia’s Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong.
CWG bronze medallists Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy will fight it out with Korean combination of Chang Ye Na and Jung Kyung Eun in women’s doubles.
In mixed doubles, Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Sikki Reddy, who lost the finals at Hyderabad on Sunday, face Indonesian pair of Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir.