Saina Nehwal will be keen to put behind the disappointment of losing in the quarterfinals of the Asia badminton championships and train her eyes on winning the New Zealand Open, beginning here on Tuesday. The 29-year-old second seed will begin her quest for the second title this year when she plays China’s Wang Zhiyi in the women’s singles first round.
The World No. 9 is the only Indian to have won a title this year — the Indonesia Masters — will be looking to add another one to her kitty.
P.V. Sindhu, who also lost in the quarterfinals of ABC, is not competing in this tournament. Anura Prabhudesai will be up against sixth seed Li Xuerui in the first round of women’s singles.
In the men’s section, B. Sai Praneeth and H.S. Prannoy qualified automatically for the main draw along with Subhankar Dey.
Ajay Jayaram, P. Kashyap and Lakshya Sen will be fighting it out in the qualifiers to make it to the main draw. Praneeth will start his campaign against compatriot Subhankar while Prannoy will clash with Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in the first round of men’s singles.
In doubles, India will be represented by the pair of Manu Attri and B. Sumeeth Reddy who will face a qualifier in the first round.
The women’s doubles combination of Ashwini Ponnappa and N. Sikki Reddy is also in the fray.
