Srikanth pulls out; Sindhu, Saina eye title at China Open

Kidambi Srikanth has decided to give China Open a miss but top Indian shuttlers P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal will have ir task cut out when y begin ir campaign at USD 700,000 event, beginning here on Tuesday. Former world number one Srikanth was pitted against reigning two-time world championship and numero u ranked Kento Momota of Japan in his opening round but he pulled out of tournament. Srikanth will w feature at Hong Kong Open World Tour Super 500, next week.

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All eyes on Sindhu & Saina

Sindhu and Saina will once again be India's best bet as y look to put up a good show this week. All eyes will also be on men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who h reached finals at French Open last month. Both Sindhu and Saina h me early exits in three successive tournaments in China, Korea, and Denmark before somewhat regaining form with a quarterfinal finish at French Open and duo will be desperate to go deep in draw. Sixth seed Sindhu, who claimed World Championship gold in August, will begin her campaign against Germany's Yvonne Li, while eighth seed Saina will open against China's Cai Yan Yan. Sindhu is likely to face eir three-time World Champion Carolina Marin or World number one Tai Tzu Ying in quarterfinals if she clears initial rounds. Saina, on or hand, might come across Japan's second seed Akane Yamaguchi in last-eight but has to trump her opponents in first two rounds.

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Or Indian shuttlers who will be in action

BWF World Tour Super 750 tournament will also feature a host of Indian male shuttlers as y vie for hors this week. B Sai Praneeth, who h won a bronze at World Championships, will face Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia. Sameer Verma will square off against Hong Kong's Lee Cheuk Yiu, while HS Prany, who recently recovered from a bout of dengue, is up against Rasmus Gemke of Denmark. Former Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap, who h reached semifinals at India Open and Korea Open, will face Thailand's Sitthikom Thammasin in opening round. In doubles, Satwik and Chirag will look to continue ir good run as y open against Korean combination of Kim Gi Jung and Lee Yong Dae. Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy will face Malaysian pairing of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in first round. Women's doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy will meet China's Li Wen Mei and Zheng Yu, while Satwik and Ashwini will take on Canian pair of Joshua Hurlburt-Yu and Josephine Wu in mixed doubles. Ar mixed doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Sikki will face off against Chinese Taipei's Wang Chi-Lin and Cheng Chi Ya. 

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