Thai test for Saina in Olympic run-up

Saina Nehwal

Bangkok: World No.5 Saina Nehwal’s final stage of competitive matchplay before the London Olympics will begin at the Thailand Open on Wednesday, and the Indian will seek to quell some late doubts that have arisen after the India Open in April. Saina is due to take part in three majors before the Olympics: the Thailand Open GP Gold, Indonesia Open Superseries and Singapore Open Superseries.

This slot in the calendar probably means more to her than any other leg, for this is where she has achieved her biggest results. She won her first Superseries title in Indonesia in 2009 before defending it the next year. Last year, she was within a heartbeat of making it three in a row by holding match point against world No.1 Wang Yihan, but the Chinese girl pulled off a miraculous victory, and Saina had has to go without another Superseries title since then.

This year, the Swiss Open GP Gold in March gave her some early momentum, and the fact that she had beaten the world No.2, Wang Shixian, seemed to have taken a weight off her shoulders. But at the India Open, the world No.5 Indian wilted while playing in front of an expectant crowd and media pressure. The second round loss was a huge jolt to her confidence, and a tearful Saina could not even speak a few words in the post-match press conference.

That then is the context to her arrival in Thailand for the GP Gold tournament. Saina is the top-seed, and with the absence of most of her top rivals, this should be a good stage for her to get into winning mode once again.

But victory would by no means be easy. She faces the Thai youngster Nichaon Jindapon in the opener and should be able to cruise through; her real test will come in the second round where she might run into China’s rising young talent Li Han. The Chinese girl has passed under the radar as she has not figured prominently in any of the Superseries, but she has had a hot streak earlier this year and might trouble Saina.

If she gets past the second round, the Indian will in all likelihood breeze through to the final, where she is seeded to meet the three-time world junior champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand. It is likely to be a feisty contest, for the Thai has a 1-2 head-to-head record against Saina, and can take her the distance.

While all the attention will be on Saina, a few other Indians are also in the fray. Sindhu PV is also in Saina’s half of the draw, and will fancy her chances. She plays qualifier Mi Jin Jung of Korea, of whom little is known. The former world champion, China’s Wang Lin, might await her in the second round – Wang has been plagued by injury over the last two years, and Sindhu has a great opportunity of going far in the draw.

The men’s singles draw will see Lin Dan taking part – a rare privilege for spectators, for the great Chinese hardly ever takes part in GP Gold tournaments. Meanwhile, a recent hero for India – K Srikanth, winner of last week’s Maldives International Challenge – will be seen in action against qualifier Marius Myhre, and Srikanth must already be dreaming of a meeting with Lin Dan in the second round.

The Indians have fielded a strong contingent in the men’s singles, with national champion Sourabh Verma, Anand Pawar, Guru Sai Dutt and Sameer Verma in action in the main draw. In the men’s doubles, new national champions Tarun Kona and Arun Vishnu begin their campaign against Indonesian pair Ricky Suwardi/ Muhd Ulinnuha. The other top Indian doubles teams have skipped this event.