Saina Nehwal, Lakshya Sen eye title at Saarlorlux Open

Saina Nehwal will begin her campaign against Germany’s Fabienne Deprez, while Lakshya Sen has received a first-round bye.

Saina Nehwal has had a barren run since winning the Indonesia Masters title in January.

Saina Nehwal and Lakshya Sen will look to put their best foot forward when they spearhead the Indian challenge at the Saarlorlux Open Super Tour 100 tournament beginning here on Tuesday.

London Olympic bronze medallist Saina, who had claimed the Indonesia Masters in January before going through a tough phase, will hope to grab another title to boost her confidence when she opens against Germany’s Fabienne Deprez.

The 29-year-old Indian snapped a hat-trick of first-round exits when she reached the quarters at the French Open last week and she will look to continue her run in the tournament, where she has been given the top billing.

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Lakshya, meanwhile, will look to grab his third title of the season after having claimed crowns at the Belgian international and Dutch Open. He had also reached the finals of Polish Open.

The eighth seeded Indian received a bye in the opening round and will begin against the winner of the first round match between Eetu Heino and Elias Bracke.

Kiran George, Mithun Manjunath and Rahul Bharadwaj are among the other Indians in the fray.