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World No.1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia and India’s Saina Nehwal will be the star attractions at the India Open Superseries that will begin later this month.
Some of the world’s best known players will be seen in action, including Juliane Schenk (Germany, 4), Ratchanok Intanon (Thailand), Sony Dwi Kuncoro (Indonesia) and the Danish men’s doubles pair of Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen, according to a release from the organisers.
Saina has never won the India Open since it turned into a Superseries event in 2011, and that should prove to be great motivation for the Hyderabadi, who lifted the title in Chennai in 2010 when it was a GP Gold event. Lee Chong Wei too has won the title once, in 2011, and he was beaten by Korean youngster Shon Wan Ho in last year’s final.
Over 200 international men and women shuttlers from 18 countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, Denmark, Germany, England, China, Korea, Japan and the hosts have already confirmed their participation to the Badminton Association of India (BAI) as entries for the India Open came to a close in March.
Indian fans will also have the opportunity to watch Indonesian legend Taufik Hidayat for the last time. The Indonesian will be retiring in a few months. Another Indonesian, Simon Santoso, has also confirmed his participation.
Heading Europe’s challenge in the men’s singles will be world No.6 Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark, while Japan’s Kenichi Tago will be hoping to reclaim lost form. China will be represented by world No. 7 Chen Jin and No.11 Wang Zhengming.
The quality of competition in the paired events promises to be high, with the world No.2 Malaysian pair of Kien Keat Koo and Boon Heong Tan, the Korean duo of Ko Sung Hyun/ Lee Yong Dae and the world No. 2 women’s pair of Misaki Matsutomo/ Ayaka Takahashi from Japan, world No.3 women’s doubles duo of Kamilla Rytter Juhl/ Christinna Pedersen of Denmark expected to thrill the audience.
While the focus will be on Saina, the other Indians too will garner some of the attention. Parupalli Kashyap, who had a brilliant run last year, when he reached the semifinals, has been gunning for a Superseries title, and the Siri Fort stadium could prove to be his dream venue. His performances in Delhi have always been inspirational, as he has fed off the energy of the crowd, and the India Open 2013 could again be his big moment.
Commonwealth champions Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa will be seen in action with different partners, while other Indian contenders, such as Guru Sai Dutt, HS Prannoy, and Ajay Jayaram, could progress into the latter part of the draw.
BAI President Dr Akhilesh Das Gupta said in a statement, “Our endeavour is to bring the best badminton players from all over the world to India, and make the India Open a top destination for all badminton fans.”
