Saina & co face tough draw in India Open
2 April 2014 4:36 AM IST
In its fourth edition, the India Open will be a big opportunity for the country’s shuttlers to show their mettle in front of the home crowd against some of the biggest names in the game. Indian chief coach Pullela Gopichand reckons it will be the toughest Indian Super Series.
‘The entire group has a tough draw because all the top players are playing. It will the toughest Indian Open we have had in all its editions. It’s going to be tough but that’s the way it is, we have to face it,’ said the 2001 All-England champion.
London Olympics bronze medallist, Saina is the only Indian to be seeded, eighth, and will once again be the star attraction when she starts her campaign against Austrian Simone Prutsch on Wednesday. World No.1 and Olympic champion Li Xuerui of China is the top seed. Defending and World Champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand though has pulled out because of injury.
After a forgettable 2013, Saina arrested a dip in her performance by clinching the Syed Modi International title early this year, before entering the quarterfinals of All England and Swiss Open. The 24-year-old Indian is likely to reach the quarters, where in all probability former world champion Yihan Wang of China will be waiting for her in the last-eight encounter. The third seeded Chinese enjoys an impressive 7-1 record against Saina and had beaten the Indian in the All England early this month.
Despite winning many titles world wide, Saina has not been able to cross the second round in the last three editions of the Indian Open and the Indian will look to better that result in this edition. Her younger colleague, Sindhu, however, has a good record at the Indian Open as she reached the quarters and semifinals of the last two edition but the Indian has been handed a tough draw as she faces two-time All England Champion Shixian Wang of China in her campaign opener on Wednesday.
World no. 9 Sindhu had beaten Shixian at the Swiss Open recently and has an impressive 3-0 head-to-head advantage against the former World No.1 Wang and she remains confident of her chances. ‘The draw is tough as I am playing Wang Shixian in the first round. I have won against her three times and hope I win this time also. I will have the crowd support, so I will have the advantage. I am confident,’ Sindhu said.
Among other Indians in women’s singles draw are Tanvi Lad, former national champion Trupti Murgunde, PC Thulasi, Saili Rane and Arundhati Pantawane. Men’s singles challenge rests on the shoulders of K Srikanth, Parupalli Kashyap, Sourabh Varma, RMV Gurusaidutt, B Sai Praneeth and HS Prannoy.
Srikanth eyes medal
New Delhi: Riding the crest of success in international badminton, India’s top ranked male shuttler Kidambi Srikanth is eyeing medals in team championships besides breaking into the top-10 of world rankings this year. After winning his maiden title in Thailand Grand Prix Gold last year, Srikanth became the best ranked Indian player in international badminton within 10 months and he said he wanted to play freely as much as possible and was looking to win some medals in the team championships this year.
‘I don’t want to take any pressure. Last year there was no pressure on me so I just want to play freely. I have improved a lot physically and mentally in the last one year. My attacking game has also improved. I want to be more consistent,’ said the 21-year-old.
‘This year I just want to win some Super Series tournaments and then there are many crucial tournaments coming up like Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and World Championship and Thomas Cup next month, so want to win a few medals. I didn’t have any major injuries so far, thank God for that. I will play few super series events and then skip few. I have already skipped a few national ranking tournaments and that is not allowed. But I will have to focus on super series more this season,’ he added.
Ratchanok withdraws
New Delhi: Reigning badminton world champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand will not be defending her India Open Super Series women’s singles title as she has withdrawn her entry.
The current world no. 4 shuttler cited medical reasons for skipping the event. ‘She sent a mail saying that she will not be playing due to medical reasons,’ tournament chief referee Isabelle Jobard of France said on Monday. Ratchanok, seeded fourth, is the only withdrawal from women’s singles.
In the men’s singles too, some big names have withdrawn from the country’s premier badminton event. They are Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia, Japan’s Kenichi Tago and Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand.
Bhat leads India’s challenge in qualifiers
New Delhi: Arvind Bhat, who turned back the clock to win the German Open GP Gold title early this month, leads India’s challenge in men’s singles qualifying round of the India Open Super Series beginning Tuesday.
Bhat (34), ranked 65 in the world, will certainly be keen to continue his dream run and look forward to a perfect warm-up when he clashes with 24-year-old Malaysian Mohammad Arif, ranked 32 places lower, in the first round.
In the next round, Bhat, who became only the second Indian player to win a GP Gold title outside India, is expected to meet 53rd ranked Israel’s Misha Zilberman, who is up against India’s K Ajay Kumar. Former national champion, 33-year-old Chetan Anand, ranked 84, has a tough first round as he takes on 54th ranked Zulfadli Zulkiffli of Malyasia. The other India men in the fray are Subhankar Dey, Anup Sridhar, Aditya Prakash and NVS Vijetha.
‘The entire group has a tough draw because all the top players are playing. It will the toughest Indian Open we have had in all its editions. It’s going to be tough but that’s the way it is, we have to face it,’ said the 2001 All-England champion.
London Olympics bronze medallist, Saina is the only Indian to be seeded, eighth, and will once again be the star attraction when she starts her campaign against Austrian Simone Prutsch on Wednesday. World No.1 and Olympic champion Li Xuerui of China is the top seed. Defending and World Champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand though has pulled out because of injury.
After a forgettable 2013, Saina arrested a dip in her performance by clinching the Syed Modi International title early this year, before entering the quarterfinals of All England and Swiss Open. The 24-year-old Indian is likely to reach the quarters, where in all probability former world champion Yihan Wang of China will be waiting for her in the last-eight encounter. The third seeded Chinese enjoys an impressive 7-1 record against Saina and had beaten the Indian in the All England early this month.
Despite winning many titles world wide, Saina has not been able to cross the second round in the last three editions of the Indian Open and the Indian will look to better that result in this edition. Her younger colleague, Sindhu, however, has a good record at the Indian Open as she reached the quarters and semifinals of the last two edition but the Indian has been handed a tough draw as she faces two-time All England Champion Shixian Wang of China in her campaign opener on Wednesday.
World no. 9 Sindhu had beaten Shixian at the Swiss Open recently and has an impressive 3-0 head-to-head advantage against the former World No.1 Wang and she remains confident of her chances. ‘The draw is tough as I am playing Wang Shixian in the first round. I have won against her three times and hope I win this time also. I will have the crowd support, so I will have the advantage. I am confident,’ Sindhu said.
Among other Indians in women’s singles draw are Tanvi Lad, former national champion Trupti Murgunde, PC Thulasi, Saili Rane and Arundhati Pantawane. Men’s singles challenge rests on the shoulders of K Srikanth, Parupalli Kashyap, Sourabh Varma, RMV Gurusaidutt, B Sai Praneeth and HS Prannoy.
Srikanth eyes medal
New Delhi: Riding the crest of success in international badminton, India’s top ranked male shuttler Kidambi Srikanth is eyeing medals in team championships besides breaking into the top-10 of world rankings this year. After winning his maiden title in Thailand Grand Prix Gold last year, Srikanth became the best ranked Indian player in international badminton within 10 months and he said he wanted to play freely as much as possible and was looking to win some medals in the team championships this year.
‘I don’t want to take any pressure. Last year there was no pressure on me so I just want to play freely. I have improved a lot physically and mentally in the last one year. My attacking game has also improved. I want to be more consistent,’ said the 21-year-old.
‘This year I just want to win some Super Series tournaments and then there are many crucial tournaments coming up like Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and World Championship and Thomas Cup next month, so want to win a few medals. I didn’t have any major injuries so far, thank God for that. I will play few super series events and then skip few. I have already skipped a few national ranking tournaments and that is not allowed. But I will have to focus on super series more this season,’ he added.
Ratchanok withdraws
New Delhi: Reigning badminton world champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand will not be defending her India Open Super Series women’s singles title as she has withdrawn her entry.
The current world no. 4 shuttler cited medical reasons for skipping the event. ‘She sent a mail saying that she will not be playing due to medical reasons,’ tournament chief referee Isabelle Jobard of France said on Monday. Ratchanok, seeded fourth, is the only withdrawal from women’s singles.
In the men’s singles too, some big names have withdrawn from the country’s premier badminton event. They are Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia, Japan’s Kenichi Tago and Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand.
Bhat leads India’s challenge in qualifiers
New Delhi: Arvind Bhat, who turned back the clock to win the German Open GP Gold title early this month, leads India’s challenge in men’s singles qualifying round of the India Open Super Series beginning Tuesday.
Bhat (34), ranked 65 in the world, will certainly be keen to continue his dream run and look forward to a perfect warm-up when he clashes with 24-year-old Malaysian Mohammad Arif, ranked 32 places lower, in the first round.
In the next round, Bhat, who became only the second Indian player to win a GP Gold title outside India, is expected to meet 53rd ranked Israel’s Misha Zilberman, who is up against India’s K Ajay Kumar. Former national champion, 33-year-old Chetan Anand, ranked 84, has a tough first round as he takes on 54th ranked Zulfadli Zulkiffli of Malyasia. The other India men in the fray are Subhankar Dey, Anup Sridhar, Aditya Prakash and NVS Vijetha.
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