Saina, Sindhu to renew rivalry on home turf

GUWAHATI: India’s badminton queens, Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu, will reignite their on-field rivalry at home turf for the coveted women’s singles title at the 83rd edition of the Senior National Badminton Championships which begins with the qualifiers here on Tuesday.

Sindhu and Saina will undoubtedly be the biggest attraction with some big names including last edition’s finalists, Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy giving the tournament a miss due to fitness issues.

The duo, finalists at the last edition, have been India’s biggest achievers over the years, including last season.

While Sindhu capped off the season with a maiden gold at the World Tour Final in December after reaching six finals, including the major events such as Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and World Championship, Saina too has entered four finals, with one resulting in a gold at Commonwealth Games.

Saina had the last laugh in the last edition of the tournament against Sindhu and she went on to get the better off her compatriot at Gold Coast final as well for her second CWG gold. Another summit clash is likely on the cards for the celebrated shuttlers and they would look to outdo each other ahead of the All England championship early next month.

Defending champion Saina, who made a good start to the new BWF season with a title at the Indonesia Masters, will look to win the national title for the fourth time, while Sindhu would hope to bag her third crown.

According to the tournament rules, the top eight players, ranked below 50 in the BWF World Rankings as on January 18 in both men’s and women’s singles, will start directly from the pre-quarter finals on completion of the Super Draw on Feb14.

If any slot is left vacant then players with top BAI Rankings’ will be considered to fill up rest of the top 8, who will get a direct entry into the pre-quarters.

MORTEN FROST ROPED IN FOR COACHING STINT

MUMBAI: Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ), in association with the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA), has roped in legendarydanishshuttler Morten Frost as a consultant coach for junior players at the academy in Bengaluru.

This coaching stint is a private arrangement between OGQ, PPBA and former All England champion Frost, a release said.

Frost, who had a legendary on-court rivalry with Indian ace Prakash, is scheduled to arrive in India later this week and will coach junior players at PPBA over the next one year.