Focus on PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal in Thailand

Bangkok: The successive losses to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi have been disappointing but Indian ace P.V. Sindhu will have to put it all behind when she renews her chase for a maiden title this year in the Thailand Open badminton tournament, starting here on Tuesday.

The last two weeks have been an emotional roller-coaster ride for Sindhu as after finishing second-best at the Indonesia Open, she was shown the door in the quarterfinals of the Japan Open last week.

On both occasions, familiar foe Yamaguchi turned out to be Sindhu’s nemesis.

The Indian would be desperate to break her seven-month long title jinx. Seeded fourth, Sindhu will open her women’s singles campaign against unseeded Chinese Han Yue, whom she easily overcame in the first round of Japan Open.

If all goes well, Sindhu might face her first real test in the quarterfinals with a possible clash against sixth seed Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand.

The other Indian in fray, Saina Nehwal has been seeded seventh here, but she has been hampered by several injuries of late.

Saina was forced to withdraw from both the Indonesia and Japan Open on medical grounds as she is focussing on getting into shape for next month’s World Championships. She has been pitted against a qualifier in the opening round.

In the men’s singles, Shubhankar Dey has got a tough opening round against top seed Kento Momota of Japan, while B. Sai Praneeth, who lost in the semifinals last week, is up against Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen.

If both the Indians manage to get past the first hurdle, they will face each other next.

Fifth seed Kidambi Srikanth will take on a qualifier, while H.S. Prannoy will be up against Wong Wing Ki Vincent of Hong Kong in the opening round.

Sameer Verma, seeded eighth, will face Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia while Parupalli Kashyap will take on France’s Brice Leverdez.