Indonesia SSP: All eyes on in-form Praneeth; Saina v Intanon in round one
INDONESIA SUPER SERIES PREMIER promises to be a real mouth-watering tournament for all fans especially Indian badminton fanatics. One more tournament to see an in-form Sai Praneeth who won his first Super Series title in Singapore, will this be his first SSP title? one will have to wait and watch.
He plays second seed Son Wan Ho in the opening round. These two have met once in the past (2016) where the result was in favour of the Korean. But this year, a lot of things have changed for Praneeth. He has been in the form of his life, so don't be surprised if the Indian can pull this through.
The other two shuttlers in the men's singles category from India are HS Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth. Prannoy who was on the verge of missing out on this tournament after some passport issues will be eager to be on court after missing the Thailand GPG.
He begins his campaign against Indonesian Anthony Ginting. This will be the first time they face each other but Prannoy will be familiar to Ginting as the young Indonesian is known for his antics against Indian shuttlers. So expect this one to be a cracker.
Srikanth faces Wong Wing Ki Vincent from Hong Kong. The head-to-head count favours Wong, 2-1.
In the women's singles Saina Nehwal who missed out on the finals of Thailand GPG, losing out in the semis will be raring to go in Indonesia. Fans can witness what they missed in Thailand. Saina v Intanon showdown as they lock horns in the opening round. The Thai shuttler too will be looking for redemption as she lost out on the title in Thailand.
Meanwhile 4th seed PV Sindhu's first round should be an easy encounter as she faces Pornpawee Chochuwong in the first round.
No Indian participation in the men's doubles category. In the women's doubles category, Ashwini Ponnappa/Sikki Reddy's opponents are yet to be decided.
Only one pair in the mixed doubles after Prannav Jerry Chopra withdrew due to injury. Ashwini/Sumeeth Reddy's opponents too are yet to be decided.
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