Saina makes a comeback; hapless Kashyap set to miss the All England Championship
AFTER A BUMPY RIDE AT THE GERMAN GPG, the Indian shuttlers now gear up for the All England Open Badminton Championship in the Queen's city, Birmingham.
Good news is that World No. 2 Saina Nehwal will be seen back in action after recovering from her injury. She was last seen in the Premier Badminton League (PBL). Her coach Vimal Kumar is very confident about his shuttler doing well at this tournament.
"If she plays well, she has a chance of winning the tournament. In big tournaments, she is definitely a strong contender to win. I feel she should play well. That said, she has the slight disadvantage of not having match practice. Once she gets into the groove, she has to be focussed and get going. That will give her the confidence," he said in an interview with DNA.
Saina was the runner-up last year, losing to World No.1 Carolina Marin.
"She should do well. It is just a question of putting everything together: the mind and body. She should not have any apprehension now," he further added.
The first round opponent for the second seeded shuttler is Michelle Li of Canada. Their head-to-head count is in favour of the Indian, 1-0.
Birmingham airport 😊😊 pic.twitter.com/poEvxNLVRX
— Saina Nehwal (@NSaina) March 6, 2016
The other shuttler in the women's singles category is un-seeded PV Sindhu who will face Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand. Sindhu dominates the head-to-head count, 5-2. The 20-year-old was last seen at the German GPG where she was ousted in the quarter-finals.
Off to Birmingham✈️
— Pvsindhu (@Pvsindhu1) March 7, 2016
#allengland#allsettogo😁#Selfiee😛 pic.twitter.com/QiR0hhjzhn
The men's singles category will be led by Kidambi Srikanth who faces Englishman Rajiv Ouseph in the first round. The head-to-head count is in favour of Srikanth, 2-0. The Indian has been in good touch but was defeated in the pre-quarters of German GPG.
HS Prannoy and Ajay Jayaram who missed the German GPG make a comeback in this tournament. Prannoy will be up against Chinese Xue Song and it will be their first encounter.
9 hours flight!!!! #ALLENGLANDCHAMPIONSHIPS #birmingham #traveldiaries
Posted by Prannoy HS on Sunday, March 6, 2016
On other hand, Ajay will face Ng Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong who will also meet each other for the first time.
Parupalli Kashyap fell prey to another injury at the German GPG and therefore will miss out on the tournament.
In the men's doubles contest, Manu Attri/Buss Sumeeth reddy will face Malaysian duo Kien Keat Koo/Boon Heong Tan in the first round. The Malaysian pair leads the head-to-head count 1-0.
Jwala Gutta/Ashwini Ponnappa will compete against Samantha Barning /Iris Tabeling of Netherlands in the women's doubles category. The Indian pair lead the head-to-head count 2-1.
