PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen eye consistency as focus shifts to Indonesia Open

JAKARTA: Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and rising star Lakshya Sen will seek consistency as they lead the Indian charge at the Indonesia Open Super 1000 badminton tournament beginning here on Tuesday.

Sindhu has managed to secure two Super 300 titles -- the Syed Modi International and the Swiss Open -- this year but she has looked vulnerable against top players, facing defeats at the hands of Thailand's Ratchanok Inthanon, China's Chen Yu Fei and Korea's An Se Young.

However, the former world champion is known to up her game in big events and she will look to gear up for next month's Commonwealth Games with another good show at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno when she opens against China's He Bing Jiao, whom she had beaten at Badminton Asia Championship.

If Sindhu, seeded seventh, can cross the opening two rounds, she is likely to face the third seeded An Se Young, who has an overwhelming 5-0 record against the Indian.

Only the top 32 in the world compete in the USD 1,200,000 BWF world tour event, which will also see the return of three-time former world champion and Rio Olympic gold medallist Carolina Marin after recovering from a knee injury.

Indian veteran Saina Nehwal, who is trying to make a comeback to her best after battling multiple fitness issues in the last few months, will skip this event as she plans to compete at the Malaysia Open next week.

In men's singles, eighth seed Sen and HS Prannoy -- the two architects of India's epic Thomas Cup win -- will cross sword in an all Indian contest.

Sen has been in good touch for the last few months.

His World Championships bronze was followed by a maiden Super 500 title win at India Open and a final appearance at the All England Championship and German Open Super 300.

World Championship silver medallist Kidambi Srikanth, who was in sensational form at the Thomas Cup, will meet Chinese Taipei's Wang Tzu Wei in his opener.

Former Singapore Open champion B Sai Praneeth, who hasn't been in the best of form, is pitted against Denmark's Hans-Kristian Solberg Vittinghus in his opening match.

Among others, Parupalli Kashyap will be missing in action as he eyes a comeback at the Malaysia Open after recovering from a hamstring and ankle injury.

Top men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who had skipped the Indonesia Masters last week, will open their campaign against Korea's Choi Sol Gyu and Kim Won Ho.

Also in action will be Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy, MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila, and Krishna Prasad Garaga and Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala.

In women's doubles, Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, and Ashwini Bhat and Shikha Gautam, will also be in the fray.

Ashwini and Sumeeth will also pair up in the mixed event, while Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto will also look to go deep in the draw.