Jakarta, 23 Jan: Top Indian shuttlers, including Lakshya Sen, will look to quickly recover from the India Open disappointment when they begin their campaign at the Indonesia Masters Super 500 tournament, starting here on Tuesday.
India cut a sorry figure at home as the country’s challenge ended in the second round following the early exits of P V Sindhu, Sen and the withdrawal of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy due to a hip injury last week.
While Sindhu and Satwik-Chirag are not playing this week, Sen will look to get back his mojo after his second-round exit against Denmark’s Rasmus Gemke.
A tough battle will be on the cards for the 21-year-old from Almora as he faces the fast and furious Kodai Naroka, who has been in sensational form, having reached the finals of the Malaysia Open.
The Japanese, who is from the same 2018 batch as Sen, has a 3-1 career record against the Indian, having beaten him at the Denmark Open last October.
Eighth seed HS Prannoy, too, will look for a good show after a first-round exit against Sen in the India Open. He had reached the quarterfinals in Malaysia and will take on Japan’s Kanta Tsuneyama, a tricky customer, in his opener.
2021 World Championships silver medallist Kidambi Srikanth looked good against Viktor Axelsen before he imploded in the second game to go down in another first round this year.
The former world No. 1 will look for redemption when he opens against Indonesia’s Shesar Hiren Rhustavito.
In women’s singles, Saina Nehwal will hope for a good outing when she crosses swords with Chinese Taipei’s Pai Yu Po in the opening round. The London Olympics bronze medallist had made it to the second round at India Open.
Malvika Bansod will open against former world champion Ratchanok Inthanon. (PTI)