Denmark Open: Sindhu returns to action after Tokyo stint, Satwik-Chirag look to continue good form

Two-time Olympic Games medallist and reigning world champion PV Sindhu will look for a good outing as she returns to competitive action after a break, at the Denmark Open World Tour Super 1000 tournament beginning in Odense on Tuesday.

Sindhu (fourth) and rising doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty (seventh) are the seeded entries from India.

Sindhu, a bronze medallist at the Tokyo Olympics, had taken a break due after her exertions in Tokyo, and she would eye a deep run at the $850,000 event, which will also restart the BWF World Tour following a suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The last couple of weeks witnessed team events in Europe, first the Sudirman Cup followed by the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals.

Also in action will be London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal, who has reportedly recovered from her groin injury, which had forced her to retire midway through her first match at the Uber Cup Finals group stage match last week.

While Sindhu, seeded fourth, will look for a rampaging start when she opens against Turkey’s Neslihan Yigit, Saina will have to work hard to get past Japan’s Aya Ohori in her opening round.

Sindhu, the 2016 Rio Games silver medallist, is likely to cross swords with Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan in the second round and a win there could put her face to face with fifth seed Korean An Seyoung.

With Chen Yufei, reigning Olympic champion and top seed for the event pulling out, Sindhu becomes the highest seeded player in her half. The second and third seeds are Akane Yamaguchi and Ratchanok Intanon, who are in the bottom half.

All eyes will also be on Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy as the seventh seeded Indian pair open their campaign against English combination of Callum Hemming and Steven Stallwood.

The duo has been in impressive form, having won their four matches at the Thomas Cup in Aarhus, Denmark where the rest of the Indian men struggled to make any impact. Should they live up to the seeding, their first big test will come in the quarterfinal against fourth seeds from Indonesia Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto.

In the men’s singles, there are plenty of contenders but very little in terms of hope.

Young Lakshya Sen, who finished second best at Dutch Open on Sunday, will look to make an impression when he faces compatriot Sourabh Verma in his campaign opener. Lakshya had failed to make the Indian team for the Sudirman Cup and Thomas Cup Final after losing his only match in the trials and would be eager to prove a point.

To say Senior pros Kidambi Srikanth and B Sai Praneeth have looked out of sorts would be an understatement. Evidently short of confidence during the Sudirman Cup and Thomas Cup Finals, the gulf between them and the best in the world has been laid bare. But at least one of them will progress to the second round; they will look to outwit each other as they face off in the opening round. But the winner is likely to face top seed Kento Momota in the second round and it seems highly unlikely either of them stand a chance against even a less-than-invincible Japan star.

Sameer Verma, who had a decent outing at Thomas Cup, will also eye a good campaign when he opens against Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn, while former top 10 player HS Prannoy will look to quickly get into rhythm as he takes on sixth seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia. Former Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap will have his task cut out against fourth seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei.

Among other Indians, MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila will look to put up a better show, while Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy too will be seen in action.

The women’s doubles pair of N Sikki Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa and Meghana Jakkampudi and S Ram Poorvisha are also in the fray.

Ashwini will pair up with Satwik in the mixed doubles category to face China’s Feng Yan Zhe and Du Yue. Sikki and Kapila have gained late entry into the mixed doubles main draw.

Details of India’s matches and schedule available here.

(With PTI inputs)