CHENNAI: It is still early days to the start of the new Olympic cycle and there's a sense of renewed energy surrounding some of the elite shuttlers in the BWF circuit. That is predominantly the case for Indians as they'll be playing in familiar conditions in front of the home fans at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall during the Indian Open, which kicks off on Tuesday, in New Delhi.
PV Sindhu will mark her first appearance since her much talked-about marriage. Doubles aces Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, after reaching the semifinal stage in the season-opener in Malaysia, will be hoping to go the distance after reuniting with Malaysian coach Tan Kim Her. Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy will be entering the BWF Super 750-level event with similar zest.
"This will be my first tournament after marriage... So everything is new and I want to give my best in the competition in front of the home fans. After the Paris Olympics, I wanted some time to recover, physically and emotionally, and the break has helped me get rejuvenated," Sindhu said during a press meet on the eve of the event.
This is certainly a new phase for Sindhu, who has had injury woes and has been a shadow of her former self in the last twelve months. With some of Sindhu's nemeses not in the picture, the two-time Olympic medallist will be hoping to regain her winning touch. Some of her rivals have either retired or have been injured or have opted to stay away from the sport for an indefinite period. Having said that, the women's singles is still quite formidable with Olympic champ An Se Young being the biggest name. As was evident in Malaysia, An has been the opposite of Sindhu and will be a difficult force to stop. China's Wang Zhi Yi and Han Yue are top-ranked stars who have the firepower to dominate opponents.
Lakshya, who went closest to winning a medal during the Paris Games, has set his sights on the top prize. "We rarely get to play in front of fans in India and hence, the India Open is a very important tournament for us. The last time I won the tournament, it was without the fans. But this time, I want to win it in front of the fans."
The few shake-ups in the line-up has opened doors for some of the young guns from the country to leave their footprints and gain some valuable experience. Away from the norm, there are multiple Indian entries in the event across disciplines. Priyanshu Rajawat, Kiran George (both men's singles), Aakarshi Kashyap, Malvika Bansod (both women's singles) are some of the talents who have been looking to break into the elite class in the last few years or so and they'll be intent on leaving a good impression. Similarly, there are some young entries in the doubles section. The mixed doubles pair of Sathish Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath are one among them. "The home ground is what we need. We also got a decent draw. We'll be up against a seeded opponent in the opening round but we have prepared well," Sathish said.
The next few days certainly has the potential to induce that much-needed kick to the likes of Sindhu and youngsters like Sathish.
