Seoul: In the absence of World No.1 Saina Nehwal, two-time World Championship bronze medalist P V Sindhu, World No. 4 Kidambi Srikanth and Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap will spearhead India’s campaign at the USD 600,000 Korea Super Series starting with the qualifying on Tuesday.
It’s going to be an uphill battle for the Indian shuttlers as they face some of their toughest rivals in the Korea Open.
Women’s singles P.V Sindhu will take on former world champion Ratchanok Intanon in the opening round. The No. 3 seed Intanon has a psychological advantage over Sindhu as she held a 3-0 head-to-head record against Sindhu.
In men’s singles, Kidambi Srikanth’s survival faces stern test at the hands of Tian Houwei of China where they will cross sword in the men’s first round. Tian had beaten Srikanth twice this year at the Malaysia Open in April and Australian Open in May.
World No. 8 Parupalli Kashyap will play Wei Nan of Hong Kong on Wednesday. Kashyap came out on top in a grueling 24-22, 19-21, 21-15 three-set victory against Wei at the 2014 China Open.
In women’s doubles, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa have withdrawn from the tournament citing health concerns by Jwala.
