Sindhu, Saina primed for opening rounds

New Delhi, January 30: The top guns in the Yonex-Sunrise Dr. Akhilesh Das Gupta India Open 2018, a part of the HSBC BWF World Tour 500, got into combat mode on the eve of the tournament by expressing their title ambitions here on Tuesday.

Indian Open: Focus on Saina, Sindhu

Matter of time before we beat Tai Tzu, says Saina Nehwal, a favourite for the India Open

Home favourites PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal said that they were banking on their past record and current form while Olympic champion Carolina Marin stated that she was keen on a sterling show to get ready for a challenging season ahead.

Badminton | #Indiaopen2018 (BWF World Tour Super 500 tournament) starts tomorrow in New Delhi. In draw of 32, 10 Indians in Men's Singles (including Srikanth, Prannoy, Praneeth, Verma bros, Ajay Jayaram & Kashyap) & 15 in Women's Singles (including Sindhu & Saina) pic.twitter.com/VqvR2s6knV

— India@Sports (@India_AllSports) January 30, 2018

In the men's section, top-ranked Kidambi Srikanth was eager to put behind his lean patch and bounce back. All four will be in action on Wednesday (January 31) when the main draw gets underway at the Siri Fort Complex.

"I got injured in November and then I had to pull out of the China and Hong Kong Open. I then played in Dubai where things didn't go my way and then I got injured again during the PBL,” Srikanth said. “I was never going to play the Malaysia Masters but had to miss Indonesia. But there are still a number of big tournaments, starting with the India Open and I am just looking forward to them," he added during a interaction with the media.

Srikanth opens his campaign against Hong Kong's Lee Cheuk Yiu on Wednesday.

Time for the 1st international tournament of the year and happy to start the year with the India Open. Will be playing my 1st match on Wednesday. #indiaopen #2018 #1sttournamentoftheyear #lotsofgoodmemories #teamindia #believe #achieve pic.twitter.com/rYaHH59ytk

— Kidambi Srikanth (@srikidambi) January 29, 2018

Sindhu, who won the women’s singles crown last season and is the top seed in the tournament, is viewing the India Open as a fresh challenge. "It's important to stay fit and give my best. Each round is going to be tough so I will be taking one match at a time. Yes, I won last year but it's a different year and I am just looking to give my best," the World Championship silver medallist said.

Sindhu takes on Denmark’s Natalia Rohde and, barring any surprises, her real challenge will come in the form of former world champion Ratchnok Intanon in the semifinals.

Saina, who is in the bottom half of the draw, will face another Dane, Sofie Dahl in the opening round. "The Indian Open is a good opportunity for me to get back to winning ways. It is a competitive field but I have a good record in the tournament so I'm hopeful of a good show," the fourth seed said.

Next tournament... India open 🇮🇳🙏 pic.twitter.com/az5X2GcLvv

— Saina Nehwal (@NSaina) January 29, 2018

Olympic champion Marin is chasing bigger goals this season. "I have played all big tournaments because I value these tournaments, and also, having turned out for three -- the Malaysian, the Indonesian and the Indian Open -- it also helps me prepare better for the All-England Championship," the Spanish star, who meets Thailand's Mattana Hemrachatanun in the first round, said.

Among the other Indians who will take to the courts on Wednesday, World No. 10 HS Prannoy will face qualifier Shreyansh Jaiswal in his opening match while Singapore Open champion B Sai Praneeth will face Rajiv Ouseph of England.

The annual $350,000 prize money tournament was first held in India in 2011. It has been renamed in honour of Dr Akhilesh Das Gupta, the late president of the Badminton Association of India, who played a stellar role in popularising the sport in the country.

Four Indians qualify for singles main round

Turkey International Junior Open champion Kartikeya Gulshan Kumar, Shreyansh Jaiswal, junior national champion Aakarshi Kashyap and Riya Mukherjee were among the four Indians who made it to the singles main draw after winning their qualifiers on Tuesday.

Jaiswal downed Abhishek Yelegar 21-10, 22-20, Gulshan Kumar overcame Bodhit Joshi 21-19, 15-21, 21-18 while Aakarshi upstaged Vrushali Gummadi 21-17, 18-21, 21-15 and Riya defeated Ira Sharma 21-11, 21-15.

Meanwhile 10 Indian doubles and mixed doubles made it to the main draw.

Key first round clashes on Wednesday

Men's singles:

3-Chou Tien Chen (Tai) v Rasmus Gemke (Den)

8-Sai Praneeth v Rajiv Ouseph (Eng)

Lee Cheuk Yiu (HK) v 2-Kidambi Srikanth (Ind)

5-Prannoy HS (Ind) v Shreyansh Jaiswal (Ind)

Sourabh Verma (Ind) v 4-Shi Yuqi (Chn)

Sameer Verma (Ind) v 7-Anders Antonsen (Den)

Women's singles

3-Ratchanok Intanon (Tha) v Rasika Raje (Ind)

1-PV Sindhu (Ind) v Natalia Koch Rohde (Den)

Sofie Holmboe Dahl (Den) v 4-Saina Nehwal (IND)

7-Yip Pui Yin (HK) v Rituparna Das (Ind)

Vaishnavi Sikka Reddy (Ind) v 4-Biewen Zhang (USA)

Mattana Hemrachatanun (Tha) v 2-Carolina Marin (Esp)

Telecast details: The tournament started Tuesday, January 30. However, telecast will start only from February 2 on Star Sports 2 and Hotstar.

Hi! The said tournament will be telecast LIVE on Star Sports Select 2/2 HD from 2 February. For timing related details, we will request you to stay tuned to the TV Guide here: https://t.co/vgpg5eZPMw

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) January 30, 2018