Singapore Open: Sindhu, Prannoy lead charge
Sindhu has found the going tough since suffering an ankle injury in August last year.
HS Prannoy and PV Sindhu
SINGAPORE: Defending champion PV Sindhu will look to bounce back after hitting a low in Thailand while an in-form HS Prannoy will be brimming with confidence as the duo will spearhead the Indian challenge at the Singapore Open Super 750 tournament starting on Tuesday.
Sindhu has found the going tough since suffering an ankle injury in August last year. She managed to reach the Madrid Spain Masters final and Malaysia Masters semi-finals, but bowed out in the first round in the recent Thailand Open.
Sindhu will have her task cut out as she will first face World No.1 Akane Yamaguchi, an opponent against whom the Indian has had some of the toughest battles of her career. The former enjoys a 14-9 head-to-head record against the Japanese, but a lot has changed since the two met at the Thailand Open last year.
An out-of-form Saina Nehwal will square off against Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon. Prannoy is coming into the tournament after ending a six-year title drought and bagging his maiden BWF World Tour crown at the Malaysia Masters.
Prannoy, India’s most consistent men’s singles player among the current crop, will begin his campaign against the third-seeded Kodai Naraoka of Japan, one of the most exciting talent in the circuit.
After a semi-final finish in the Thailand Open, Lakshya Sen will battle it out against Chou Tien Chen, the fifth seed from Chinese Taipei, in the opening round. Kidambi Srikanth will meet Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen while Priyanshu Rajawat will take on Kanta Tsuneyama from Japan.
In the men’s doubles event, the World No.4 combination of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will open against the Japanese duo of Akira Koga and Taichi Saito.
