Saina & Srikanth look to defend their title at the India Open Super Series

THE NEXT CHALLENGE that awaits the shuttlers is the India Super Series (also known as India Open) which begins on 29th March in New Delhi, India.

As we all know that the shuttlers are in a race against time to earn a place at the Rio Olympics especially the Indians who will feel the pressure more as they play in front of their home crowd. Nothing less than performing their hearts out will be accepted.

World No. 6 and India's top shuttler, Saina Nehwal is seeded second and her first round opponent is yet to be decided. She is the defending champion and therefore will look to give her best and not let her fans down. Saina's first international outing was the All England SSP where she was ousted in the quarters and she was then seen at the Swiss GPG where she was out in the semi-finals. Injuries and inconsistency are affecting her performance but she will look to outplay them at the India Open.

Another shuttler in this category is unseeded PV Sindhu and her first round opponent is Italian shuttler Jeanine Cicognini. The head to head count between the two is 2-0 in favour of the Indian. Her notable performances this year includes winning the Malaysia GPG. World No.1 Carolina Marin withdrew from the tournament or else Sindhu would have faced the Spanish in the first round. 

"I know I haven't been performing well. But I am fit and there is nothing wrong in my game. I hope this tournament helps me to regain my form. I couldn't play last year due to a foot injury, so I am looking forward to the event," Sindhu said to PTI.

Not a single Indian male shuttler is seeded at this event. World No. 10, Kidambi Srikanth plays seventh seed Tian Houwei of China in the first round. In the men's singles category, he is the defending champion. The notable performance of Srikanth this year includes the India GPG title. He did not feature in the Swiss GPG and the New Zealand GPG.

"I know I have lost a few matches but I am satisfied with my game. I am confident of defending my title. I have been playing well. I won the Syed Modi and also reached the semifinals at Malaysia Masters," said Srikanth.

He further added

"There is always pressure when you enter a tournament as a defending champion but it is happening in India and I hope the crowd will come and support us and it will boost us."

World No. 20, HS Prannoy will have his confidence boosted with a title at the Swiss GPG in his kitty which has helped him climb up the rankings. His first round opponent is Thai shuttler Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk.

Ajay Jayaram on the other hand plays Swiss GPG runner-up Marc Zwiebler of Germany in the first round. While World No. 18 Parupalli Kashyap is still recovering from an injury therefore will miss out on the action. Sai Praneeth's opponent is yet to be decided.

Manu Attri/Buss Sumeeth Reddy lead the men's doubles contingent, will play sixth seeds Liu Xiaolong/Qiu Zihan of China in the first round. Others in this category include Alwin Francis/Kona Tarun, who have been doing well in the tier IV tournaments, winning three and runners-up at one event. They will be up against Lee Sheng Mu/Tsai Chia Hsin of Taipei.

The others are as follows

In the women's doubles category, Jwala Gutta/Ashwini Ponnappa leads the contingent as usual, will face Korean pair of Go Ah Ra/Yoo Hae Won. Other in this category include

In the mixed doubles, the pairs are as follows