Shuttlers aim to exploit home conditions at Indian Open

Hyderabad, Mar 24 (PTI) Saina Nehwal was on guard for lower-ranked rivals, while Chetan Anand was not looking beyond the first round but Anup Sridhar was targetting the semis as Indian shuttlers geared up for the Yonex Sunrise Indian Open Grand Prix that rolls out here tomorrow.

With a relatively easy draw and home conditions, second seed Saina is undoubtedly a hot favourite at the event but the Indian, who opens her campaign against unseeded Chew Yen Daphane Ng of Malaysia, is not taking her opponents lightly as their game is unknown to her.

"I have never played against her (Chew). I don't know her game, I don't know her weakness or strength, so I am not setting any targets as such. It is an important tournament for me and I know it would be tough," Saina told PTI.

"There are some good players like Julia (Pei Xian Wong), Maria (Kristin Yulianti) and others. Each of them are good. The first two rounds are OK and I know people expect me to win and take it easy. One may say that I have a 60 per cent chance of winning because they are lower ranked than me but I won't take any player lightly," she said.

Meanwhile, Chetan will be up against a lesser known Chong Chieh Lok of Malaysia in the first round but the world number 12 Indian doesn't want to put pressure on himself and has avoided a look at the draw. PTI

India make flying start in Indian Open

Hyderabad, Mar 24 (PTI) Indian shuttlers had a good day in office with as many as four reaching the main draw of women's singles after winning their respective qualifying round matches in the Yonex Sunrise Indian Open, here today.

Aparna Balan, Ashwini Ponnappa, Arundhati Pantawane and Chitralekha progressed to the main draw.

Balan beat Mohita Sachdev 21-11, 21-14 in just 20 minutes in the first round of qualifiers and then edged past PV Sindhu 21-16, 15-21, 21-18.

Ponnappa defeated Bibar Basumatari 21-14, 21-11 before accounting for Anuradha Shrikhande 21-17, 21-17 in the second match.

Pantawane defeated Meenakshi Nair 21-13, 21-15 and then made short work of Manisha K 21-5, 21-14 while Chitralekha knocked out Sara Devi Tamang 21-16, 21-11 and then beat Anita Ohlan 21-17, 25-23 to make it to the main draw.

In men's doubles qualifier, Sai Praneeth B and Pranav Chopra, Bennett Anthony and PH Suraj and Jayan James and KS Hersen won their respective matches and alongwith D Guruprasad and Vineeth Manuel, who got a walkover, entered the main draw. PTI

Saina's Olympic nemesis comes calling at Indian Open

Hyderabad, Mar 24 (PTI) She crushed Saina Nehwal's Olympic dreams in Beijing and world number 18 Maria Kristin Yulianti is hoping for an encore if the two face off in the Indian Open Grand Prix Badminton tournament starting here tomorrow.

"Saina is a world class player. What happened in Beijing is past. This is a new tournament and a new challenge. I have always enjoyed playing against Saina. She is really fast and cover the court really well. I hope I can defeat her this time too," 23-year-old Yulianti said.

Yulianti had beaten Saina in the Olympic quarterfinals where she came back from 12-19 down to get the better of the Indian.

Saina is not the only one Yulianti is wary of and said she is not taking her other opponents lightly either.

"The field is tough and if one has to win this one, she has to be really at her best," she said.

Playing such a big tournament after a long knee injury lay-off after the Olympics, Yulianti said she is here to acclimatise herself for the world championship to be held here in August. PTI