Sindhu aims to complete unfinished business

Date :23-Jul-2019

TOKYO:

ACE Indian shuttler PV Sindhu will have to quickly pick up the pieces after her deflating loss in the Indonesia Open final and prepare for the next battle at the Japan Open BWF World Tour Super 750 starting here Tuesday. The USD 750,000 tournament will also see the return of Saina Nehwal, who had missed the Indonesia Open Super 1000 event due to fitness issues.

Sindhu missed an opportunity to break a seven-month title drought when she lost in straight games to Akane Yamaguchi in Jakarta on Sunday and the Indian will look to go the full distance when she opens against China’s Han Yue here. If she crosses the opening hurdle, Sindhu will face either Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmour or Japan’s Aya Ohori in the second round. The fifth seed will also aim to avenge her final loss to Yamaguchi as she is likely to face the world no 4 Japanese in the quarter-finals. “Overall, it was a good tournament for me at Indonesia and I hope I can take the confidence going forward and do well at Japan,” Sindhu had said after the finals on Sunday.

Saina, seeded eighth and the only Indian to win a title this season, will open against Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan, an opponent against whom she enjoys a 3-1 head-to-head lead. In men’s singles, it will be an all-Indian opening round battle between HS Prannoy and eighth seed Kidambi Srikanth.