In the absence of top Chinese shuttlers, Indian ace Saina Nehwal has been seeded number one and handed a relatively easy draw in the upcoming Yonex Sunrise Indian Open badminton tournament, scheduled to be held in Delhi from April 23-28.
She will open her campaign against unseeded Belaetrix Manuputi of Indonesia in the women’s singles.
The Hyderabadi is not likely to be challenged much in the first two rounds but may face some threat from compatriot P.V. Sindhu, who is seeded eighth in the competition.
If Saina overcomes that hurdle, her first real test could be against world no. 8, Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand in the semifinals.
Intanon, seeded third, had recently beaten Saina in the semifinals of the All England Championships.
Meanwhile, in the men’s singles event, P. Kashyap has got a tough draw.
The world No. 8 will be facing former Olympic and world champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia in the very first round.
But if the Indian Olympian, who is seeded fifth in the tournament, manages to get past Hidayat, he is likely to have an easy second round.
However, in the quarterfinals, the Indian could be taking on world no. 1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia.
