2014 Macau Open: A preview from Indian perspective

P.V.Sindhu will lead the Indian charge

2014 Macau Open Badminton is starting tomorrow at the Macau Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion in Macau, Hong Kong. It’s a popular tournament of the circuit with prize money of $120,000. 9 players from India will take part in the tournament. Let’s take a quick look at their chances.

In men’s doubles, the unseeded Indian pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar will take on the unseeded Korean pair of Sol Kyu Choi and Kang Ji Wook in the first round. The 37th ranked duo has had some success in the recent past and stands a good chance against the Koreans who are ranked much lower.

In women’s singles, P. C. Thulasi and P. V. Sindhu will lead the Indian charge. Thulasi will play Hsu Ya Ching of Chinese Taipei in the round 1. Sindhu is ranked 2 in the tournament and will take on Hung Shih Han of Chinese Taipei in her opening match.

Sindhu will have an interesting match in round two where she will play Lindaweni Fanetri of Indonesia. She has defeated Fanetri 4 times in the past including twice in 2014. Unless Sindhu suffers a shock defeat in first two rounds, she is likely to have a tough quarter-final against 5th seed Han Li of China. Han Li has been playing well this year and will be a tough opponent to beat.

But if she does manage to win the quarters she will likely come back with the trophy.

In men’s singles, 5 Indians will compete: 14^th seed Ajay Jayaram, unseeded Arvind Bhat, 8^th seed B. Sai Praneeth, 3^rd seed H. S. Prannoy, and 7^th seed Sourabh Varma. Indians have a good draw and won’t play against each other until the quarter-finals.

However, only one of India’s two best prospects – H. S. Prannoy and B. Sai Praneeth – can reach the semis. Even worse, the winner of the two will have to face 9^th seed Gao Huan or 2^nd seed Marc Zwibler of Germany.

All these matches are likely to be among the best fought matches of the tournament. The player to emerge winner among these may eventually lift the trophy.

Another quarter-final may be played between Ajay Jayaram and Sourabh Varma. If things go well, two quarter-finals and a semi-final match may become an all Indian affair. Good news for Indian Badminton!

Let’s hope our players will bring at least one trophy home from Macau.