Saina to lead at Sindhu’s expense
On a comeback trail after her knee injury, Saina Nehwal will lead India in the Macau Open Grand Prix. This is after PV Sindhu pulled out of the tournament to prepare for the Dubai Super Series Finals.
Macau Open, starting on Tuesday was due to have a opening clash between Sindhu and Chinese Yue Han. However, Sindhu pulled out of the $120000 event citing possible fatigue after playing 2 consecutive tournaments – China Open and the Hong Kong Open.
Sindhu opts to rest before Dubai Superseries
PV Sindhu’s father PV Ramana voiced similar opinions.”Winning or losing is not important but at least she should prepare well to compete in such a high-level tournament.” He is referring to the upcoming Dubai event to be held from 14-18 December. Only the top 8 players in the world make the cut in this tournament.
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Sindhu has been in sparkling form in the past few months. After winning the silver in the Rio Olympics, she captured the China Open. She would follow it up with a stellar performance in the Hong Kong Super Series only to fail at the final hurdle.
However, Saina Nehwal has had an arduous last 6 months. After undergoing a knee surgery in August which derailed her progress in Rio, she begun her rehabilitation under coach Vimal Kumar. Following that, she participated in the China and Hong Kong Open being ousted in the 1st round and the quarterfinals respectively.
Other Indian shuttlers at the Macau Open
Shifting the focus to the men’s singles, national champion Sameer Verma would be looking to impress again after the Hong Kong Open final spot. He takes on Czech Milan Ludik in the opening round. Additionally, we will see the return of Parupalli Kashyap who opted for a break after the Denmark Open.
Other shuttlers in the picture at the Macau Open include Kidambi Srikanth, H S Prannoy and B Sai Praneeth. In the doubles scene, Manu Attri will represent India in both the men’s doubles and mixed doubles events. He will be pairing up with B Sumeeth Reddy and Jwala Gutta respectively.
