India's female shuttlers did not have a good time in the last competition — Indonesia Open — but they will be more than determined to come up with a renewed effort in the Australian Open. India will look forward to the performance of Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu in the competition.
Saina opens her account against Sung Ji Hyun while Sindhu faces Sayaka Sato in their first round matches on Wednesday.
Saina has looked good in patches, but the problem for the former world number one has been her lack of consistency. The Indian shuttler needs to be on top of her game against Sung Ji, who is a world class shuttler. The South Korean is also one of the favourites for the title.
The Indian shuttler needs to find her rhythm early to try and pressurise the player from the first game itself.
However, if one looks at their head-to-head record, Saina has been all over her, winning six times and losing only twice. So Saina will go into this match confident, but then the former world number one has not been playing high quality badminton for some time now, which can be attributed to her injuries in the last few years.
While Saina may not be grabbing headlines, Sindhu has been busy earning a name for herself. The Rio Olympic medallist has replaced Saina as India's best shuttler, and she will be keen to have the show going in the Australian Open with a win over Sato.
Her encounter with Sato is a tricky one. The Japanese player is a wonderful shuttler and has all the ingredients to beat Sindhu. The two have faced each other only once in their professional career, in the Denmark Open, and the Indian shuttler had lost the match.
Sindhu will be eager to correct that record against Sato on Wednesday.
Where to follow live scores
Saina Nehwal vs Sung Ji Hyun is tentatively scheduled for 3:45 pm local time ( 11:15 am IST). Sindhu vs Sato is scheduled for 3:55 pm local time (11:25 am IST)
There is no Live TV coverage.
The live scores can be followed here.
