The 23-year-old Sarosi may not pose huge problems for Sindhu but then being a first timer here at the Games, there could be butterflies in Sindhu’s stomach.
As PV Sindhu steps onto the court on Thursday to take on Laurav Sarosi of Hungary, she would not just be fighting against her but also against her own inconsistency.
Being the twice World Championship bronze medallist, it was expected from Sindhu by now to have reached a level where her teammate Saina Nehwal was before the start of London Games. Sadly for her, or for India, Sindhu’s graduation is slow despite the fact that she has managed to defeat higher-ranked player off and on while losing to the lower-ranked ones, too.
The 23-year-old Sarosi may not pose huge problems for Sindhu but then being a first timer here at the Games, there could be butterflies in Sindhu’s stomach. The Indian has worked hard during last he one month under the watchful eyes of her coach Pullela Gopichand in Hyderabad.
Before that, she was eliminated by Kim Hyon Min of Korea in the first round of Australian Open in June. However, if she is able to overcome initial nervousness, there is a good chance that she could pose problems for the higher-ranked players than her.
Seventh heaven
As compared to India’s five qualifications in London, Rio will witness two more in the hunt for the medals. Apart from Sindhu, London medallist and top Indian Saina and men’s top seed Kidambi Srikanth will be spearheading India’s challenge.
In the doubles, though, Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy, in men’s, and the tried and tested pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa, in women’s, are also in the fray.
For Saina, the biggest challenge is to change the colour of medal here. Runner-up at the All England and World Championships, the 26-year-old will begin her third Olympics’ campaign on Thursday against local favourite Lohanny Vicente.
It was an ankle injury during the second half of 2015 that put Saina on the back foot. From being No 2 in the world, she lost important time and ranking points before fighting back her fitness. The way she played in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia before winning Australian Open, it looks like as if she is back to her top form.
Like Sindhu, Saina has also not played any major tournament since June 12 after winning the Australian Open.
Being used to pressure of expectations, Saina will warm up against Vicente in the opening round before taking on Thailand’s Porntip Buranaprasetsuk in the pre-quarterfinals, should she win the first match. Her biggest test, however, could be when she might face reigning champion Li Xuerui in the quarters. Current world champion and European champion Carolina Marin is a likely rival in the semifinals, barring any major upsets.
Srikanth has task on hand
Kidambi Srikanth is India’s lone entry in the men’s section. Appearing in his first Games, the highest ranked Indian has also been going through indifferent run in the recent months.
He became the first Indian to win the Super Series Premier in 2014 when he defeated superstar Lin Dan of China in the straight games in final. This helped him reach No. 3 in the world for a while before again slipping down.
The absence of his practice partner and former India’s best Parupalli Kashyap is certainly felt here but Srikanth has a job to do here for India. Srikanth has relatively easy draw, facing Lino Munoz of Mexico in the first round.
Henri Hurskeinen of Sweden could be the second before Jan O Jorgenson of Denmark in the pre-quarterfinals.
Double trouble
The top women’s doubles pair of Jwala and Ashwini will probably face the strongest opponents in the first round here. The world No. 1 Japanese pair of A Takahashi and M Matsutomo are drawn against the top Indians and that makes their journey a much tougher than others.
In the men’s doubles, Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy have will be facing the power hitting of the former world No. 1 Indonesian pair of Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan in the opening encounter.
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