Sindhu gets easy opener at All England

The World No. 4 will take on Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong in the first round. Saina Nehwal, on the other hand, faces World No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying.

Published : Feb 22, 2018 15:06 IST , Birmingham

 P. V. Sindhu will be the third seed at the tourney.
P. V. Sindhu will be the third seed at the tourney.
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P. V. Sindhu will be the third seed at the tourney.

P. V. Sindhu and Saina Nehwal have contrasting first-round challenges ahead of them at the USD 100,000 All England Championship next month.

Sindhu, the World No. 4, will take on an relatively easy opponent in Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong in the first round; Saina, on the other hand, faces a tough test against her nemesis - World No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying. Saina, a finalist (in 2015) at the All England Championship, lost to Tai Tzu at the Indonesia Open last month; she will thus get a chance to avenge her loss and better her dismal head-to-head record against the defending champion.

Read: Srikanth predicts golden era for Indian badminton

If Sindhu crosses her first hurdle, she may get a chance to settle scores with American Beiwen Zhang Zhang in a likely second-round clash. Zhang had defeated Sindhu at the India Open final.

Praneeth vs Son Wan Ho, Prannoy vs Chou Tien Chen

K. Srikanth, India’s top male shuttler, will face Frenchman Brice Leverdez in the opening round. However, compatriots B. Sai Praneeth and H. S. Prannoy will face tougher opponents. Singapore Open champion Praneeth will square off against former World No. 1 - Korean Son Wan Ho. World No. 11 Prannoy, who is still recovering from the foot infection that saw him struggle at the India Open, will play eighth seed Chou Tien Chen, who had finished runners-up twice at the India Open.

Read: Indian shuttlers get help in preparation for new service rule

In the doubles category, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, who had reached the semifinals of Indonesia Open, will face Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi of Japan, while India Open semifinalists Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N. Sikki Reddy will take on Germany’s Marvin Emil Seidel and Linda Efler in opening round.

Manu Attri and B. Sumeeth Reddy will meet England pair of Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge, while Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki will have to fight it out against second seeded Japanese pair of Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi.

Women’s doubles pair of Jakkampudi Meghana and Poorvisha S. Ram will face fifth seeded Japanese pair of Shiho Tanaka and Koharu Yonemoto.

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