China Open Preview: Can Prannoy & Saina continue their magical form?

WITH THE absence of Kidambi Srikanth, the Indian contingent at China Open will be led by the national champions HS Prannoy and Saina Nehwal.

All eyes will also be on the defending women's singles champion PV Sindhu. Srikanth, Ajay Jayaram and Pranaav Jerry Chopra have withdrawn due to injuries.

In the men's singles category, Prannoy and Sourabh Verma will be representing India. While Prannoy's opponent is yet to be decided, Sourabh will take on Frenchman Brice Leverdez in the opening round.

If things go well in favour of Prannoy, a likely clash against second seed Son Wan Ho (Korea) is on the cards in the quarter-final.

Defending champion Sindhu will face Japanese Sayaka Sato in the first round. The second seed Indian has not been at her best in the past few tournaments. She will look to get back on track with defending her title in China. Fans can once again witness a Sindhu vs Okuhara (Japan) clash in the quarter-finals.

Meanwhile 2014 champion Saina is beaming with confidence with her current performance. Having crowned the national champion, beating Sindhu and her comeback performance has all be hailed. She credits all this to the reunion with coach Gopichand.

So the fans will eagerly be waiting for Saina magic to work in the upcoming tournament. In the first round, she will be up against Beiwen Zhang of USA. She is likely to face a tough competition in round two against 5th seed Akane Yamaguchi.

In the men's doubles, once again the young pair of Satwiksairaj/Chirag Shetty will be the talk of the town as they have impressive in the past few months. They have tough competition in the opening round in 5th seeds Liu Cheng/Zhang Nan of China. On the other hand, their senior compatriots Manu Attri/Sumeeth will be up against top seeds from Indonesia Marcus Gideon/Kevin Sukamuljo.

Ashwini Ponnappa/Sikki Reddy will play the Korean pair of Ha Na Baek/Chae Yoo Jung in the opening round of women's doubles.

In the mixed doubles, Ashwini will be paired with Satwik and they will have to go through the qualifying rounds to enter the main round of the tournament.

Get the latest in the world of Sports, Teams, and Players! Free Delivery to your Inbox.