New Delhi, April 07: Saina Nehwal will be the strong favourite to win her second badminton title of the year in the Indian Open Super Series beginning at the Siri Fort Sports complex here April 26.
The country’s first Super Series tournament will see participation from 220 players from 16 countries. Badminton powerhouse China, however, will skip the event and that enhances Saina’s chances of victory.
Saina, ranked third in world, won the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold last month. Last year, she captured five titles, including three Super Series crowns. However, she injured her ankle in winning in Hong Kong title and skipped the Super Series events in Malaysia and South Korea at the start of the year.
The Indian Open will be the perfect tournament for Saina to win her fifth Super Series title. Saina will have fond memories of her last appearance here when she won the Commonwealth Games gold in front of an adoring home crowd and helped India pip England in the medals tally for a second place finish.
“Saina is the top seed in the tournament and therefore favourite to win the title,” said coach Pullela Gopichand, who was here for the launch ceremony of the event.
“She is fit and high on confidence after her victory in the Swiss Open. Hopefully she will have a good tournament.”
Gopichand said that her ligament injury has healed. “She is putting on the straps as a precaution,” he said.
The men’s singles will see stiff competition with the presence of World No.1 Malaysian Lee Chong Wei, Indonesian veteran Taufik Hiddayat and Denmark’s Peter Gade.
“The field is competitive but I hope players like Parupalli Kashyap and Arvind Bhat can cause some upsets and move beyond the last eight. Kashyap won the bronze in the Commonwealth Games here and playing at home will be an advantage.”
“It is also an opportunity for younger players like Sai Praneeth and H.S. Prannoy to show their talent,” he said.
India will also be looking at Jwala Gutta and V.Diju to come good in mixed doubles.
“Diju has a bit of a problem with his back but he should be fine before the tournament. They have a good chance of winning the title,” said Gopichand.
—-IANs