Favourable draw for Saina Nehwal but challenging for local male shuttlers in India Open Super Series
India’s Saina Nehwal finds a favourable draw in the Women’s Singles category, while the Male shuttlers are set to meet the top athletes of the world in the opening round of the India Open Super Series 2011, which will kick off on 26 April at New Delhi, India.
The event is given the status of “Super Series” for the first time which offers a lucrative prize money of US$200,000.
The World Number three, Saina, is the top seed of the home event as World Number one Wang Shixian and World Number two Wang Yihan of China have skipped this event. The Chinese ladies will remain busy in the event of Asian Badminton Championships 2011, starting
from 19 April in China. Saina will start her journey by playing against the Japanese shuttler Ai Goto in the first round of the Women’s singles. The top seed has already defeated Goto in all of their previous three meetings.
Saina, who has won many Super Series events, is expected to meet Eriko Hirose of Japan in the quarter-final stage. Eriko defeated the Indian in the All England Open Premier Super Series 2011, whereas Saina took prompt revenge by beating the Japanese in the
Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold 2011. The Indian has a great chance to grab the Women’s Singles crown, as there will not be any Chinese players to trouble her in the event.
The Men’s Singles draw is challenging for the Indian male players, as most of them will meet the top athletes in the first and second rounds of the event. India’s ace shuttler, Ajay Jayaram who is World Number 28, remains unlucky as he is set to meet the
World Number one, Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia. The Malaysian has already won three major events in the preceding year including All England Open Premier Super Series.
India’s Arvind Bhat, who is currently ranked at Number 44, will start his journey by fighting against the World Number 11, Sung Hwan Park of Korea. The Korean has recently won the Men’s Singles title in the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold 2011. Arvind is in a
good shape as he remains busy in different events since January 2011.
Another Indian shuttler, Guru Sai Dutt will be facing the Number four seed Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand in the first round. Guru is the former Junior Champion of India and has the ability to put up a good show against the much experienced Ponsana.
The event has pulled the attention of all top athletes of the world including Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei and Indonesia’s Taufik Hidayat. By playing against the top shuttlers, the younger players of India will gain experience and motivation.
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