Saina Nehwal did not get many opportunities to rejoice for the Yonex-Sunrise Indian Open. Due to some unavoidable reasons, success has evaded the World No. 2 shuttler at the Open conducted at the Siri Fort Complex during the past two years.
Saina who was yet to recover from the ankle injury, fell back in the first round in 2011. Again she was defeated by a lower-ranked player in the second round last year.
The 23-year-old who is a top seed is determined not to let her fans down. She admitted that it is a tough tournament and not easy to perform at home. She added that being the top seed, everyone expects her to win. She expects to do well this time, will try to give her best and live up to the expectations.
The Open is a part of the OSIM BWF World Super Series which will commence with the qualifiers on Tuesday.
World No. 1 Li Xuerui and No. 3 Wang Yihan from China decided to bounce the tournament. This may make the task for Saina a bit easier. The greatest obstacle for the Indian in the top half of the draw could be seventh seed Jiang Yanjiao of China. Saina never squashed this Chinese contender in the past five matches with her. In case she sneaks past Yanjiao, she may encounter No. 4 Juliane Schenk of Germany in the final.
There is high possibility that Saina may clash with the rising star PV Sindhu who is seeded eighth in the quarterfinals. Saina claimed that it will be a good match and Indians hardly play with each other at the top level. She added that she will be a bit nervous being the top seed and will be under a little pressure. Saina would be commencing her campaign against Belaetrix Manuputi of Indonesia. She predicted that as there are shuttlers fromThailand as well as Chinese Taipei, the competition will not going to be easy.
The Indian challenge will be led by Parupalli Kashyap, who will clash with former Olympic champion Taufiq Hidayat in the first round in the men's singles. The Indonesian opponent is past his prime but the veteran has the required ability to surprise rivals in early rounds. The Indian coach Pullela Gopichand claimed that Kashyap has the potential to beat Hidayat. In case Kashyap defeats Hidayat and wins the second round as well, he will get an opportunity to encounter with World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei ofMalaysia in the quarterfinals.
The Indians can hope good performances from Ashwini Ponnappa and Jwala Gutta. Both of them will play with different partners for the first time in this tournament. The total prize amount of this tournament is $200,000 (Rs 1.1 crore).
