The entire Indian contingent’s challenge in the Yonex Thailand Open ended in the second round but they will have a chance to redeem themselves as they gear up to fight in the Toyota Thailand Open, starting on January 19, once again.
Reigning World Champion PV Sindhu got eliminated in the first round of the Yonex Thailand Open as she went down against Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt. She will be determined to do much better this time as she faces local favourite Busanan Ongbamrungphan in the first round.
Busanan, however, was responsible for the elimination of Saina Nehwal in the second round of the Thailand Open last week. Nehwal, who was a bronze medallist at the London Olympics, has a tough fixture slated for her opening round as she faces world No. 5 Ratchanok Intanon.
However, the participation of Kidambi Srikanth and Parupalli Kashyap in this competition is doubtful.
Srikanth withdrew from his second-round fixture last week due to a calf injury. Kashyap, on the other hand, had to pull out in the third game of his first match due to a muscle strain.
If they are fit to feature in this competition now, Srikanth will face local player Sitthikom Thammasin whereas Kashyap will take on Denmark’s Rasmus Gemke.
As far as things for the men’s double pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty goes, they will face fellow Indians Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy in the opening round.
Toyota Thailand Open 2021 badminton fixtures for Indian players
The Toyota Thailand Open starts on Tuesday, January 19, and will run till Sunday, January 24.
Women’s singles first round fixtures
Saina Nehwal vs Ratchanok Intanon
PV Sindhu vs Busanan Ongbamrungphan
Men’s singles first round fixtures
Kidambi Srikanth vs Sitthikom Thammasin
Parupalli Kashyap vs Rasmus Gemke
Sourabh Verma vs Anthony Ginting
B Sai Praneeth vs Liew Daren
HS Prannoy vs Jonatan Christie
Sameer Verma vs Lee Zii Jia
Lakshya Sen vs Chou Tien Chen
Women’s doubles first round fixtures
Ashwini Ponnappa/ N Sikki Reddy vs Linda Efler/Isabel Herttrich
Men’s doubles first round fixtures
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty vs Manu Attri/B Sumeeth Reddy
MR Arjun/Dhruv Kapila vs Oliver Leydon-Davis/Abhinav Manota
Mixed doubles first round fixtures
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Ashwini Ponnappa vs Niclas Nohr/Amalie Magelund
B Sumeeth Reddy/N Sikki Reddy vs Hoo Pang Ron/Cheah Yee See
