Star shuttlers Saina, Sindhu, Srikanth seek success in French Open
Indian badminton stars, including Kidambi Srikanth, PV Sindhu, and Saina Nehwal will be eyeing their first major BWF title of the year when the French Open begins in Paris tomorrow. World No. 10 Saina reached the Denmark Open final yesterday but lost to nemesis and top-ranked Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan, thus having very little time to recover after a hectic week. Here's more.
Sindhu made an unexpected first-round exit in Denmark Open
In the Denmark Open, Srikanth bowed out in the semi-final, losing to Japan's Kento Momota. World No. 3 Sindhu will be fresher, having made an unexpected first-round exit in Odense, Denmark. Besides Srikanth, the other Indians in the men's singles draw are B Sai Praneeth and Sameer Verma. Verma had lost a marathon battle against Srikanth in the quarterfinals of Denmark Open.
Tai Tzu and Momota to be title favorites again
It will take a special performance to win the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 750 event which features a high-quality field. Tai Tzu and Kento Momota, who won in Denmark, will be title favorites again in French Open.
Ashwini Ponnappa to play only mixed-doubles this week with Rankireddy
The women's field comprises of Tai Tzu, Saina, Sindhu, and Carolina Marin of Spain. Meanwhile, top player Ashwini Ponnappa will be playing only mixed-doubles this week, alongside Satwiksairaj Rankireddy. In men's category, Momota could be challenged by the likes of Srikanth, Chen Long of China, Son Wan Ho of South Korea, Viktor Axelsen of Denmark, and Shi Yuqi of China.
Sindhu to face China's Beiwen Zhang in first round
Srikanth faces World No. 22, Wong Wing Ki Vincent (China), in the first round, while Saina and Sindhu will take on 37th-ranked Saena Kawakami of South Korea and 11th-ranked Beiwen Zhang of China, respectively. Zhang had beaten Sindhu last week.
