Defending champion Kidambi Srikanth faces a giant opening hurdle in the form of Japan’s Kento Momota in the first round of the Indonesia Open World Tour Super 1000 badminton tournament starting on Tuesday.
Srikanth was easily beaten by the 23-year-old Momota on Saturday in the semi-finals of the Malaysia Open and the Indian will have to produce his top game to trouble the former world No 2.
Momota has been in great form since making a comeback to the circuit after serving a one-year ban on charges of illegal gambling. His run of 21 successive wins was cut short by the legendary Lee Chong Wei in the final of the Malaysia Open on Sunday. Momota has also defeated Srikanth six times in nine meetings, including the last three.
HS Prannoy also faces an arduous task of surpassing the legendary Lin Dan of China in his campaign opener, while Singapore Open champion B Sai Praneeth will take on Chinese Taipei’s Wang Tzu Wei for the second time in two weeks.
Praneeth lost to Wang in straight games at the Malaysia Open in the first round. Sameer Verma too will look to avoid a second successive first-round exit when he takes on Germany’s Rasmus Gemke in Indonesia.
In women’s singles, Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu, who also reached the semi-finals in Malaysia before losing to world No 1 Tai Tzu Ying in three games, will clash with Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong in the first round.
Commonwealth Games gold medallist Saina Nehwal, who lost in the second round in Malaysia to world No 2 Akane Yamaguchi, takes on Indonesia’s Dinar Dyah Ayustine in her Indonesia opener.
The 16-year-old Vaishnavi Reddy Jakka will look to gain experience by putting on a good show against Denmark’s Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt in her campaign opener. If she gets through the first round, she could come up against Tai Tzu in the second.
In the men’s doubles, Japanese combo of Hiroyuki Endo and Yuta Watanabe will stand in the way of Commonwealth Games silver medallists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, while Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy will meet third seeds Chinese Liu Cheng and Zhang Nan.
Women’s doubles pair of J Meghana and Poorvisha S Ram will fancy their chances when they square off against Indonesian pair of Agatha Imanuela and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti, while Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy will face a tough test in their opening clash with fourth seeded Chinese duo of Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong.
With inputs from PTI
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!