PV Sindhu skips Singapore Open, eyes Worlds in Aug

World No. 11 PV Sindhu has given the Singapore Open Super Series, which began with the qualifying rounds on Tuesday, a miss.

The Hyderabad shuttler was originally scheduled to play in last week’s Indonesia Open Super Series Premier and the Singapore Open. “I was not fit enough to play these tournaments. There is no point in playing without training well,” she said.

The lanky 17-year-old added: “I was not feeling well after last month’s Sudirman Cup. I wanted to take some rest. Now, I am back to training and look forward to playing in competitions again,” she said.

Sindhu played three back-to-back tournaments in April-May, finishing as a quarterfinalist in the Badminton Asia Championships, entering the semifinals of the India Open and winning the Malaysian Grand Prix Gold.

“I had good results in those three tournaments. One had to be very fit to play in tournaments week after week. You need to be mentally fit and also work on endurance. I want to be wellprepared for upcoming tournaments.”

Sindhu’s next tournament is the World Championships in Guangzhou, China, from August 5-11.

Meanwhile, Saina Nehwal has been seeded second behind China’s Li Xuerui. Saina will take on Singapore’s Juan Gu of Singapore in her opening round on Wednesday. Saina has been joined by PC Thulasi and Arundhati Pantawane in her event. Thulasi and Arundhati made it to the main draw. On Tuesday, Thulasi won 21-18 21-17 against Vietnam’s Thi Trang (B) Vu and 18-21 21-13 21-8 against Thailand’s Chochuwong Pornpawee. Arundhati won 21-5 21-10 against Anna Astrakhantseva of Russia and 21-14 21-16 against Singapore’s Xiaoyu Liang.

In men’s singles, B Sai Praneeth qualified for the main draw. He defeated Malaysian Muhammad Hafiz Hashim 21-13 21-15 and then Japan’s Riichi Takeshita 21-12 22-20 in the two qualifying rounds. However, HS Prannoy 21-19 19-21 12-21 to host’s Yong Zhao Ashton Chen in the first qualifying round. Arvind Bhat also exited, losing  to Hong Kong’s Nan Wei 21-19 9-21 15-21.

In women’s doubles, the Jwala Gutta/ Prajakta Sawant pair lost in the first round of qualifiers, 20-22 12-21 to locals Wei Han Tan/ Dellis Yuliana. Sawant also lost in mixed doubles with Malaysian partner Mohd Razif Abdul Latif, 16-21 20-22, to local duo of Zhao Jiang Terry Yeo/ Lei Yao in Round 1.