Nehwal has failed to reach a final since winning the
Malaysia Masters in January.
The reasons for her withdrawal are still unknown
India’s title hopes received a big blow as the former World No.
1 Saina Nehwal has
pulled out of this week’s $120,000 US Open to be staged at Anaheim, California
from July 19-23. Saina was seeded second and was slated to begin her campaign
against Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmour.
While the exact cause
of her pull-out has not yet been known, sources close to Sportskeeda have
confirmed that the former Olympic medalist will not take part in the US Open.
Saina, who has not been a regular at this Grand Prix Gold event, was expected
to play after her early exits in her past few tournaments this season. The
27-year-old, who underwent knee surgery in 2016, has struggled for consistency
and has failed to reach a final since winning the Malaysia Masters in January.
With the World
Championships scheduled to be held next month, the London Olympic bronze
medallist has perhaps eventually decided to let it go in favour of fitness
training. Saina’s absence will indeed take a lot of sheen away from the
tournament. Nevertheless, India still can look forward to winning a title here.
Also read: Stats: Which
country has the most singles players combined in the BWF World Rankings Top
100?
Prannoy eyes first title of the season
The men’s singles
section looks to be the best bet with the likes of HS Prannoy, Parupalli
Kashyap as well as Sameer Verma being there in the draw.
Prannoy is seeded
second and takes on the 107th ranked Austrian Luka Wraber. After succumbing to
a shocking pre-quarter-final loss at the Canada Open last week, the World No.
23 gets a chance at redemption.
Sameer Verma, who
began the 2017 season with the Syed Modi International title, is one to watch
out for even though this will be his first tournament in three months due to a
shoulder injury. The World No. 32 had originally planned his return at last
week’s Canada Open but was deprived of the opportunity as he was not granted a
visa on time.
He has a relatively
easy opener against Vietnam’s Hoang Nam Nguyen.
Commonwealth Games
champion Parupalli Kashyap has a tough task as he faces the top seed Lee Hyun
II in the opener.
Talented youngsters in women’s singles
In the absence of
Nehwal, the Indian charge in women’s singles will be led by some of the most
talented youngsters, who will hope to take this opportunity and shine. National
champion Rituparna Das, Russian Open winner Ruthvika Shivani Gadde, Sri Krishna
Priya Kudaravalli, Reshma Karthik and Sai Uttejitha Rao Chukka will look to
make an impact.
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