Saina, Kashyap face tough test, Sindhu starts on safer shores at the All England Open 2021 draws

The draws for the All England Open Super 1000 event which will be held in Birmingham was released by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Tuesday. Indian badminton star couple, Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap are gearing up to face a tough challenge at the All England Open which will start on March 17.

While a lot of hopes will be pinned on Saina Nehwal to perform well in this event, she will be up against Danish shuttler  Mia Blichfeldt in the first round of the Women’s Singles. Blichfeldt is in great form and it will be a tough test for the London 2012 Bronze medallist.

The Danish youngster has beaten Nehwal recently at the Yonex Thailand Open which happened last month. Therefore it will be shot at redemption for the Olympic medallist. Other than doing well in Thailand, Blichfedlt has also helped Denmark retain the European Mixed Team Championship in Finland along with her compatriot Viktor Axelsen as they defeated France in the finals.

Things do not get easier for Saina’s better half, Parupalli Kashyap as he will be up against World No.1 Kento Momota. The Japanese shuttler will return to the court after recovering from COVID-19 and therefore one can expect the two time World Championship winner to be more fired up against Kashyap.

However, to the relief of the Indian badminton fans, Rio 2016 Silver medallist PV Sindhu has an easier draw in comparison. The 25-year old will play Malaysia’s Soniia Cheah in the first round and if she goes through then she may face Japan’s  Akane Yamaguchi in the quarter-finals and old foe, Carolina Marin, in the semifinals.  However, a lot depends on how Sindhu performs in her curtain-raiser against Cheah and that will decide how far she can go into the event.

Wrapping up the Indian badminton contingent with former World No.1 Kidambi Srikanth will face Indonesia’s Tommy Sugiarto and he will be a tough nut to crack. Srikanth will have to be very careful and be consistent against someone like Sugiarto as he cannot let the Indonesian run away with the momentum at any phase of the match. Lastly, World Championship bronze medallist Sai Praneeth will face French shuttler Toma Junior Popov in the first round.

The 2021 All England Open will be very important for the Indian shuttlers as it will provide them with ranking points that will help them in their qualification for the Tokyo Olympics. This will be the second event after the Swiss Open which will offer shuttlers with ranking points. Therefore they will be eager to bring their best game on the court and carry that form as now the qualification window has also been extended to June 15.