Tough draw? Well, see the three results so far when PV Sindhu has met Chinese hot shot Shixian Wang!
It's 3-0 in favour of Sindhu, the next big badminton sensation after Saina Nehwal. But the moment world No. 9 Sindhu was drawn against No. 3 and All England champion Shixian, there were only talks about the difficult draw that she is in. In fact, all those awaiting her prospective clash with Nehwal in the semifinals, are now keeping their fingers crossed till she takes this scoreline 4-0.
"This will be our fourth meeting and all three previous results are in my favour," said Sindhu after the draw ceremony. "I don't take any match lightly. It will be a good match again. I kept pacing Shixian at the Swiss Open and I believe I can beat her again. Defeating her in Basel gives me a lot of confidence going into India Open," said the World Championship bronze medallist.
The Sunrise India Open Super Series badminton tournament will see as many as 400 players from 12 countries in action here at the Siri Fort indoor stadium from Tuesday. However, the real action will only start on Wednesday after Tuesday's qualifying rounds.
World No. 1 and multiple-time champion Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia and women's No. 1 and Olympic champion Li Xuerui of China are among the star attractions in the week-long event.
Defending champion and reigning world champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand has withdrawn from the tournament citing medical reasons.
Nehwal, seeded eighth, faces a relatively easy opener against Austrian Simone Prutsch before running into the former World champion Yihan Wang of China in the quarters.
Indian top men's shuttler Parupalli Kashyap is drawn to meet Wold No. 6 Shengming Wang of China in the opening round. Kidambi Srikanth, Sourabh Varma, RMV Gurusaidutt, B Sai Praneeth, Anand Pawar and HS Prannoy are the other Indians in the main men's draw.
Meanwhile, German Open champion Arvind Bhat will lead the Indian challenge in the men's singles qualifying round. The 34-year Bhat, ranked No. 65 in world, will take on 24-year-old Malaysian Mohammad Arif, ranked 32 places lower, in the first round. The other Indian men in the fray are Subhankar Dey, Anup Sridhar, Aditya Prakash and NVS Vijetha.
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