After having failed to get past the quarterfinals of the All England Open, India women singles players Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu will hope to deliver in the upcoming India Open Superseries, which starts on Tuesday. The two top shuttlers from India could face one another in the quarterfinals of the competition.
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Saina and Sinhu are slated in the second half of the draw, and they have relatively easy matches in the opening round. Sixth seed Saina is set to face Chia Hsin Lee, who should not pose much problems and the former world number one does not face a difficult opponent in the next round too. If she wins her first two matches Saina could run into Sindhu in the quarterfinals, but the Rio 2016 silver medallist also needs to win both her matches for the Saina-Sindhu clash to come true.
Third seed Sindhu also has an easy opening match against Xiaoyu Liang, and a win could set up a date with Japan's Saena Kawakami in the second round. In all probability, an all-Indian quarterfinals clash between Saina and Sindhu could take shape in the Indian Open, which means one of the shuttlers will be guaranteed semifinals berth.
However, with Saina and Sindhu being top contenders from India in the competition, they should be looking at the bigger picture, and aim for winning the title. Irrespective of whether Saina or Sindhu wins the head-to-head clash, the road to the finals is not going to be easy as the winner in the quarterfinals could face second seed Sung Ji Hyun or fifth seed Ratchanok Intanon in the semi-finals.
With this competition played in India, there will be great support for the home players in the competition. The crowd could inspire Indian shuttlers, primarily Saina and Sindhu, who are loved in the badminton circuit, to perform in this Superseries.
