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Right on the heels of this week’s China Masters, there is another Super Series event kicking off next Tuesday. The Tokyo Metropolitan Museum will host a phalanx of established stars in the 8th tournament of the BWF Super Series, a selection of 13 showcase events. Lee Chong Wei, the defending champion and also the winner in 2010, is seeded first. The 2011 winner Chen Long is the second seed. The absence of Parupalli Kashyap and Saina Nehwal might disappoint a few Indian fans, but there is plenty more to look forward to from the $200,000 tournament.
Men’s Draw
The draft draw suggests that we might have eight Indian men in the fray, but Guru Sai Dutt and Parupalli Kashyap are almost certain not to play. They are both nursing themselves back from a bout of fever and injury respectively. Sai Praneeth, Sourabh Verma and Ajay Jayaram have direct entries into the main draw. On the other hand, Srikanth Kidambi, Anand Pawar and H S Prannoy will have to fight with 16 other players for the four qualifier spots in the 32-strong main draw.
Srikanth is the highest ranked qualifier and will take on Riichi Takeshita in the first round of the qualification draw. The 38th ranked Indian has never met the Japanese on court, but should come through that one without too much drama.
In the second round of qualifying, the Guntur lad will take on the winner of the match between Hiroki Takeuchi and Takahiro Hiramatsu. He should be expected to qualify for the main draw. Both Anand Pawar, who is prospering in China this week and H S Prannoy will also expect to get through the qualifiers and snatch three of the four qualifying spots for the Indian contingent.
The first quarter features Lee Chong Wei and Hu Yun, the first and eighth seeds for the week. There is plenty of Indian interest in this section because first up for Yun is Sai Praneeth. If Prannoy comes through the qualifiers as expected, he will play Verma in the first round. The winner of that match will play the winner of the match between the Hong Kong star and Praneeth.
The second quarter could pit Ajay Jayaram against Boonsak Ponsana in the second round and Srikanth against Tien Minh Nguyen at the same stage. The winner of this quarter is expected to take on Lee Chong Wei in the semi-finals of the event. If Anand Pawar qualifies, he could face up to the second seeded Chen Long in the first round.
Women’s Draw
Saina Nehwal is taking time off to recover from the exertions of the Indian Badminton League, but the organisers are yet to take her name off the draw sheet. Arundhati Pantawane and P C Thulasi had sent in their withdrawals in August, leaving Tanvi Lad and eighth seeded P V Sindhu as the only Indians in contention. The presence of the world No.1 and Olympic champion Li Xuerui, world champion Ratchanok Intanon, Yihan Wang and Shixian Wang lends the women’s draw much needed gravitas in the absence of Saina.
Sindhu has received a reasonable draw, needing to play qualifiers in both the first and second rounds before advancing to a likely quarterfinal against the top seeded Li Xuerui. Sindhu shot into the limelight when she beat the Olympic Champion at the China Masters around the same time last year. The 10th ranked Indian has a 1-1 record against the versatile Chinese player.
The only other Indian in the fray is Tanvi, who is drawn to play Sayaka Takahashi in the first round. The two haven’t faced each other so far, so this might prove to be a tricky challenge for the 83rd ranked Indian against the Japanese player.
The two Wangs – Yihan and Shixian are seeded fourth and fifth respectively and are expected to meet in the quarterfinals. The teenaged world champion Intanon might not be severely tested till she faces the winner between the two Wangs in the semifinals.
With just four more Super Series events after this one – two in October (Denmark & France) and two in November (China & Hong Kong) before the Masters Finals in December, expect a final push from the players as they prepare to end the season on a high.
