Jakarta: Olympic medallists P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal are likely to square off in the second round of the Indonesia Masters Super 500 tournament beginning here on Tuesday.
World Champion Sindhu and title-holder Saina looked impressive in the season-opening Malaysia Masters before their campaign ended in the quarterfinals with straight game losses and the duo will need to step up if they want to put up an impressive show this week.
While Sindhu will hope to find her rhythm quickly after a 16-21 16-21 loss to her nemesis Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei, defending champion Saina too will have to quickly get over the bitter 8-21 7-21 defeat to three-time former world champion Carolina Marin of Spain.
Fifth seed Sindhu will open against Japan's Aya Ohori, whom she beat last week in the second round, while Saina faces another Japanese Sayaka Takahashi in her opening match.
Both the Indian shuttlers are expected to overcome their respective first-round opponents and cross swords in what would be their fifth encounter at the international stage.
Sindhu, considered a revered opponent in world badminton, has a 1-3 record against Saina, who always had the upper hand over her younger compatriot.
All the four matches between the duo have ended in straight games. While Sindhu has beaten Saina a few times in the Premier Badminton League, she has inexplicably suffered a melt down against her senior opponent at the international stage, where her last loss was at 2018 Commonwealth
Games final.