India Open badminton: China’s Chen Yufei, Shi Yuqi handed top billing; PV Sindhu seeded 2d
Newly-topped All England Open champion Chen Yufei and defending men’s singles champion Shi Yuqi have been given the pinnacle billing at India Open which starts on the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi on 26 March. After eight years on the Siri Fort Sports Complex, this time the $350 000 events will now not only have a brand-new cope with however is also set to welcome the most important ever Chinese Contingent. The Indian task could be spearheaded by 2d seed and 2017 winner PV Sindhu and -time champion Saina Nehwal, seeded 5th this time. Sindhu takes on any other Indian Mugdha Agrey, even as Nehwal will face Cai Yanyan in their first spherical fixtures. Sindhu could face defending champion Beiwen Zhang inside the semi-final. At the same time, Intanon will offer a difficult take to Nehwal within the area-finals need to them each progress beyond the opening rounds.
Vrushali Gummadi, Sai Uttejitha Rao is the alternative Indians within the most important draw of women’s singles. India has a robust illustration in the guys’ singles segment, with six shuttlers vying for the name. While 2015 champion Kidambi Srikanth has been seeded 0.33, BWF World Tour Finals semi-finalist Sameer Verma is the fifth seed. Srikanth takes on Wong Wing Ki Vincent while Verma will face Rasmus Gemke in the opening spherical. ADVERTISEMENT Sai Praneeth, HS Prannoy, Parupalli Kashyap, Subhankar Dey will carry the home hopes correctly.
The 1/3-seeded guys’’ doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will start their 2019 season on the India Open amid quite a few expectations. Former National Champions Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy are the most effective Indian pair to have been seeded at 6th. 2018 World Championships sector-finalists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, and Ashwini Ponnappa is the 8th seeds within the combined doubles draw led by way of the Chinese pair of Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongping, the 2018 BWF World Tour Finals champions. Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Sikki Reddy are unseeded and could face the fourth seeds Hafiz Faizal and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja within the 2nd round. Commonwealth Games bronze medallist combine of Reddy and Ponnappa will look to drag off a disappointment over the sixth seeds Li Wenmei and Zheng Yu inside the women’s doubles.
Having disappointed international No 1 Tai Tzu Ying inside the final of the All England Open final week, international No 2 Yufei will command a whole lot of interest as she battles it out with India’s beautiful on the World Tour Super 500 event. The essential draw of women’s singles has as many as six Chinese shuttlers, with global No 7 He Bingjiao and world No 14 Han Yue receiving the 1/3 and seventh seeding, respectively. Former champion and 2012 Olympic gold medallist Li Xuerui makes her go back even as Chen Xiaoxin and Cai Yanyan are the other Chinese inside the draw. Shi Yuqi, whose All England identify defense ended in the semi-finals to Viktor Axelsen, will wish to rebound on the India Open. No 2 Chinese, who starts his assignment against compatriot Huang Yuxiang, could meet his countryman Zhou Zeqi within the zone-finals. Lu Guangzu and ranked Zhao Junpeng will clash in yet some other all-Chinese face-off. The notably famous Viktor Axelsen, second seed this time and winner in 2017, will appear to continue his comeback after achieving the very last of the All England Open.
