Denmark Open Badminton 2017 Schedule : PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal face difficult 1st round opponents

All eyes are on PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth as the Denmark Open is all set to get underway. Both Sindhu and Srikanth would look to put behind the disappointment of an early exit from Japan Open and make a positive start to their campaign at the $750,000 Denmark Open Super Series Premier, which begins here on Tuesday.

Sindhu has already bagged two titles this year. She grabbed the Indian Open and Korean Open and lost to Nazomi Okuhara in the World Championship final. After the disappointing Japan Open, where she suffered a second round exit at the hands of Okuhara, Sindhu got a 15-day break, and the fresh and fit shuttler is expected to go all guns blazing again.

Sindhu is starting her campaign on Wednesday (or the wee hours of Thursday for viewers from India) against Chen Wefei, the rising Chinese star, currently ranked 10 in the world. The two have clashed on three previous occasions, including twice in the course of this year; and the head-to-head record reads 2-1 in Sindhu’s favour.

If the lanky Hyderabad shuttler can maintain the level of form she showed in Glasgow, she should be able to stroll through her second-round outing against unheralded opposition, and make her way through to the third round, where seventh-seeded He Bingjiao of China, South Korea’s Jang Mi Lee and rangy Japanese left-hander Sayaka Sato will be shooting for that pre-quarter-final spot opposite the Indian.

Srikanth will start his campaign on Wednesday as well, though his first round opponent is yet to be decided. His back-to-back Super Series titles in Indonesia and Australia had made him a hot favourite at the last World Championships in Glasgow, but his performances could not match up to the expectations that were on his shoulders.

Indian badminton queen Saina Nehwal will face her old foe Carolina Marin on the same day in the first round. Marin is currently ranked 5th in the world and has been the toughest opponent for Nehwal over the last few years.

On the opening day, Commonwealth Games champion P Kashyap, who reached the finals at US Open, will open his campaign against Denmark's Victor Svendsen, while Subhankar Dey faces another local shuttler Kim Bruun in men's singles qualifiers.

Anura Prabhudesai will lock horns with Denmark's Irina Amalie Andersen, in women's singles. In the mixed doubles, Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy will take on Ireland's Sam Magee and Chloe Magee in the main draw on Tuesday.

On the other hand, Women's doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy is also looking for a good outing on Tuesday, while Satwiksairaj and Ashwini, who reached the mixed doubles semi-finals at Dutch Open Grand Prix last week will look to continue their good run.