The USD 120,000 Thailand Grand Prix Gold is all set to get underway on the 30th of May with the qualifiers at Bangkok. A host of players will be representing India in the six-day event, across five categories. India’s title hopes rest primarily on the shoulders of Saina Nehwal and Sai Praneeth, while Parupalli Kashyap has all the pre-requisites to be the underdog.
Saina Nehwal
Seeded second in the women’s singles category, Saina Nehwal is one of the favourites to win the Thailand Open. Having missed out on the Sudirman Cup to be with her ailing father, the 27-year-old will be itching to have a go at the title.
The shuttler from Hyderabad will open her campaign against little-known Martina Repiska of Slovakia and is expected to reach the quarter-final stage comfortably. Seventh-seeded Michelle Li of Canada and fourth-seeded local favourite Busanan Ongbamrungphan are in the second half of the draw and potential opponents for the world number 10.
If Saina manages to progress to the finals, it is likely that top seed and former world champion Ratchanok Intanon will stand in her way. The former world number 1 and Olympic bronze medallist will be supremely confident though, having won the Malaysia Masters earlier this year.
Sai Praneeth
Seeded third in the men’s singles competition, Sai Praneeth will look to cement his position in world badminton with another formidable display after winning the Singapore Open Super Series last month. It was a high point for 24-year-old Praneeth when he beat fellow Indian Srikanth Kidambi in the finals, becoming only the fourth Indian to win a Superseries title.
Praneeth, who is from Hyderabad, will look to keep the winning run going when he takes on unseeded Nathaniel Ernestan Sulistyo of Indonesia in the first round.
Parupalli Kashyap
30-year-old Parupalli Kashyap, who is unseeded in the tournament, will start his campaign against Milan Dratva of Slovakia. The Commonwealth Games gold medallist, who is also from Hyderabad, will look to bounce back after having recently returned from injury.
The tournament, which ends on 4th June, will feature a host of other Indians.
Men’s singles
Pratul Joshi
Rahul Yadav Chittaboina
Shreyansh Jaiswal
Harsheel Dani
R.M.V. Gurusaidutt
Ashok Kumar
Anand Pawar
Sourabh Verma (12)
Hemanth M. Gowda
Siril Verma
Abhishek Yelegar
Subhankar Dey
Aditya Joshi
Women’s singles
Rituparna Das
Gadde Ruthvika Shivani
Sri Krishna Priya Kudaravalli
Saili Rane
Sai Uttejitha Rao Chukka
Reshma Karthik
Men’s doubles
Arjun M.R./Ramchandran Shlok
Francis Alwin/Kona Tarun
Women’s doubles
Jakkampudi Meghana (8)/S Ram Poorvisha
Mixed doubles
Prajakta Sawant/Yogendran Khrishnan (Malaysia)
