Summary:
Lucknow, Jan 17 (PTI) P V Sindhu will look to recover from her unexpected semifinal loss at the India Open and end her title drought at the Syed Modi International beginning here on Tuesday, even as the tournament lost a lot of sheen following the withdrawal of top players like Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth.
The 26-year-old Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, was well on course to win her first title since the 2019 World Championship triumph last week before left-hander Supanida Katethong of Thailand shattered her hopes with a three-game win at the India Open.
Sindhu, who had finished runner-up at Swiss Open and World Tour Finals last year, will hope to turn things around this week when she begins her campaign against compatriot Tanya Hemanth.
The former champion will be itching to settle her scores against Supanida, whom she is likely to face again at the semifinals at the Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium here.
Second seeded Canadian Michelle Li, a 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Polish eighth seed Jordan Hart and second seed Iris Wang of USA also pulled out of the event.
The biggest name to miss the tournament is world championship bronze medallist Lakshya Sen, who pulled out of the tournament due to exhaustion after claiming his maiden Super 500 crown at India Open on Sunday.