Saina Nehwal and B Sai Praneeth to Lead Indian Attack at Orleans Masters in France

P.V. Sindhu, who was the runner-up at the Madrid Spain Masters last week, and the top doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty, who were seeded number one, have withdrawn from the tournament. As a result, no Indian players will enter the event as seeded players.World no. 7 Carlona Marin, the 2016 Olympic gold medallist, is the top seed in women’s singles, while Japanese Kenta Nishimoto leads the pack in men’s singles.

Saina, the world no. 31, and Sai Praneeth, the world no 49, face a qualifier in their respective first-round matches.

There will be two all-Indian clashes to watch out for today, with Priyanshu Rajawat taking on fellow India Kiran George in men’s singles and Tanya Hemanth facing Aakarshi Kashyap in women’s singles in the opening round. Tasnim Mir and Ashmita Chaliha are the other Indian women’s singles players in the fray at the event.

Among the youngsters, eyes will be on Sankar Muthusamy, the World Junior Championships silver medallist. Sankar begins his campaign as a qualifier against Ade Resky Dwicahyo of Azerbaijan.

In men’s singles, Mithun Manjunath, the world no. 43, will be playing Victor Svendsen of Denmark in the opening round. Sameer Verma, the world no. 78, is the other Indian men’s singles specialist who will be in action today.

In men’s doubles, M.R. Arjun and Dhruv Kapila are India’s biggest hopes, and they start their campaign against Ondrej Kral and Adam Mendrek of the Czech Republic.

The women’s doubles event at the Orleans Masters badminton tournament will see experienced players Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto competing in a relatively weaker field. Other Indian players, including the young pair Simran Singhi-Ritika Thaker and veteran N. Sikki Reddy, who is partnering with Arathi Sara Sunil, are also aiming to make an impact in the tournament.

In mixed doubles, Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy will partner B. Summeeth Reddy and Rohan Kapoor.