Singapore Open: Indian hopes pinned on Saina Nehwal

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Arjun Yadav

14 June, 2011

India's Saina Nehwal is the best hope for bringing the Singapore Open 2011 women's single title to India. Though, she has not played consistently in any of the tournaments, she would like to play well in a city which has strong Indian support.

SAINA NEHWAL, ranked world number 4 in the world has not been in the best of form this season with her previous loss in the Thailand Open quarter finals to Xuerui Li of China. She is now eager to set her record straight and showcase her skills in the Singapore Open super series, which she won last year when she was enjoying a dream run with three consecutive titles.

She has been allotted the fourth seed in the competition. She would be facing Chinese Lu Lan ranked 24 in the world. If her form is anything to go by, it would be an uphill task for Saina to defend her title in Singapore which she would dearly love to. She would have to be at the top of her game if she is to repeat her last year's performance this year too, as top Chinese shuttlers would also be part of the tournament.

Due to a strong Indian population in Singapore, Saina has always received massive support, which helps her when the chips are down. She has to be at her attacking best against top shuttlers from across the world, who will capitalize on any weak links if she exposes any, during a game.

Indian male shuttlers are also in the fray for the Singapore Open such as P Kashyap who is the top ranked Indian, and RMV Gurusai Datt and Ajay Jayaram. In the doubles section Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa would be fighting it out for the women doubles title. Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas would team up together to represent India in the men’s doubles team.

Saina Nehwal has only won one major title this year, the Swiss Open Grand Prix 2011. She would like to increase the number of trophies in her cabinet with another victory in the Singapore Open.