After massive disappointment in the Rio Olympics, where Saina Nehwal was suffering a knee injury, the Indian shuttler will hope to make amends in the China Open. Saina is making a comeback in the circuit after her successful surgery in August. However, during the Olympics, India witnessed the brilliance of PV Sindhu, winning silver for India. Both the shuttlers will play an important role in keeping the India flag high in the competition.
There is no doubt about the skill, which Saina and Sindhu possess, and the duo will hope to get things right from the first match. Saina has a tricky draw in her comeback tournament as she will face Thailand's Porntip Buranapras. Sindhu starts her campaign against Chia Hsin.
If things go according to plan and the duo win their respective first and second round matches, Saina could meet Sindhu in the quarter-finals of the competition, which would be an interesting clash. If that is the case, India will have one semi-finalist, at the least, for sure in the China Open.
Both Saina and Sindhu have it in them to win the title. But, for that to happen, they need to play some consistent badminton with players like Carolina Marin Nozomi Okuhara and Ratchanak Intanon being strong favourites.
Though it is Saina and Sindhu, who will be strong India contenders for the title, male shuttlers from India will also hope to shine in the China Open.
With Kidambi Srikanth deciding to skip the China Open, the onus will fall on HS Prannoy, Sai Praneeth and Ajay Jayaram. Prannoy will face NG Ka Long while Praneeth will face Marc Zwiebler. Jayaram will play a qualifier, which has not been decided yet.
