Sai, Sindhu aim for title at Indian Open

New Delhi, March 27: Indian badminton stars Sai Nehwal and P.V. Sindhu will aim to clinch the title when the seventh edition of the Yonex Sunrise India Open World Superseries will start at the Siri Fort Sports Complex here on March 28. While World No. 9 Sai is a past winner here in 2015, World No.5 PV Sindhu will be aiming for her maiden India Open Superseries title.

Challenging them for the crown will be World No.4 women’s player Caroli Marin of Spain and defending champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand.

With the qualifying round starting on Tuesday, Indian hopes will be resting on Sourabh Verma, Siril Verma and former Junior World No.1 Aditya Joshi in the men’s section. In the women’s section, Arundhati Panthawane and P.C Thulasi will spearhead the Indian challenge. The $325,000 tourment, which has over the years gained great prominence on the intertiol calendar, promises to be a grander affair with the prize money hiked by $25,000 from last year.

“Badminton as a sport has grown in stature in India. There are so many players coming up through the ranks and that is testimony to the initiative taken by the BAI to nurture players at the grassroot level. And as always the tourment promises to enthrall the Indian fans with some high-octane badminton action as every year,” BAI president Akhilesh Das Gupta said. “Just like every edition, the tourment this year will see the best of the players in action and I am looking forward to a great competitive tourment. I hope the best player wins, even though deep down inside I would want the Indians in the fray to go the distance,” Das Gupta added. IANS