Tricky draw for Indian shuttlers

Saina Nehwal will square off against 2010 Asian Games bronze medallist Yip Pui Yin of Hong Kong in her opening match of the Yonex- Sunrise India Open OSIM BWF World Superseries tournament, that begins here on April 24.

Saina has a good record against Yin, having beaten her three times in a row since losing to her in the Asiad quarter- finals.

The world number five, who has been placed in the same half as top seed Wang Shixian of China, is likely to meet two- time All England champion Tine Baun of Denmark in the quarters.

If Saina clears that hurdle, then in all likelihood she would have to overcome back- to- back Chinese opponents for title glory.

In the women’s doubles, the pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa will launch their campaign against seventh seeds Poon Lok Yan and Tse Ying Suet of Hong Kong.

“Draws are never easy but that has never bothered us. We have beaten them before and I am quite confident, we can beat them at the Indian Open,” said Jwala, who will pair up with V. Diju for the mixed doubles.

Jwala and Diju face the Chinese combination of Jiaming Tao and Huan Xia in the opening round and though their opponents do not feature in the top echelons of the Chinese squad, the first round encounter is not expected to be easy for the Indians.

“Our job is to take pressure, and play and win matches. We know we are capable of doing much better,” Jwala said.

In the men’s singles section, Olympic hopefuls Ajay Jayaram and P. Kashyap failed to find any big favour from the draw with both taking on higher- ranked opponents early on. Jayaram faces Englishman Rajiv Ouseph — ranked seven places above him — while Kashyap meets Pablo Abian of Spain.

The tournament is the final qualifying meet for the London Olympics.