Saina eager to defend title

Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal will look to launch the new season with a bang when she starts her title defence at the Syed Modi International Grand Prix Gold Badminton Championship that gets underway with the qualifiers here on Tuesday.

The 24-year-old, who won the title in 2009 and 2010 before claiming it back last year again, will face tough competition from runners-up and third seed P V Sindhu and reigning world champion Carolina Marin of Spain in women’s singles.

“I am looking forward to the event. Last year turned out to be a good season for me and I think Syed Modi is the right tournament to start the year,” said Saina, who will open her campaign against Malaysia’s Yin Fun Lim on Wednesday in the main draw.

“I am the defending champion here. So, I hope I can once again win the title and start the season on a positive note. However, it won’t be easy because we have a few very good players such as Carolina and Sindhu. So hope for the best,” added Saina, who has fifth seed Beatriz Corrales and compatriot P C Tulashi in her half, among others. Sindhu, who won multiple bronze medals in team events last year, will open against a qualifier but her real challenge will start in the third round, where she is likely to face Thailand’s Porntip Buranaprasertsuk, who is seeded sixth.

In the men’s section, last year’s runners-up K Srikanth will look to go the distance this time, Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap could prove to be his biggest competitor.

Srikanth, who entered the big league after stunning two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan of China to win the China Super Series Premier last year, will also face resistance from compatriots Ajay Jayaram, who won the Dutch Grand Prix last year, Indonesian Masters GPG champion H S Prannoy, Commonwealth Games bronze medallist RMV Gurusaidutt.

Besides the Indian shuttlers, the world No 4 Indian will also have to fight it out with 11th ranked Viktor Alexsan of Denmark and Malaysia’s Wei Feng Chong.

Meanwhile, Srikanth will open against Shreyansh Jaiswal, who had sent packing defending champion Sourabh Verma in the first round of Senior Nationals in Srinagar in 2012. Kashyap will take on Subhankar Dey in his tournament opener.