Indian shuttlers eye productive outing at Singapore Open

Top Indian shuttlers gear up for Singapore Open to fine-tune for Paris Olympics, facing tough competition.

Top Indian shuttlers, including PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen, will look to hit top gear at the $850,000 Singapore Open, beginning in Singapore on May 28, with an additional objective of fine-tuning their preparations for the Paris Olympics.

The Summer Games are just two months away and the Olympic-bound shuttlers will have three more tournaments — Australian Open super 500, Indonesia Super 1000, Canada Open super 500 — to hone their skills and shake off any cobwebs ahead of the quadrennial mega event.

Recently-crowned Thailand Open champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have looked in the best shape for the Olympics, while Sindhu too has geared up with a runner-up finish at the Malaysia Masters on Sunday.

Lakshya and Prannoy will also hope for a deep run into the event to receive the ideal boost in the build-up to the Paris Games.

However, it will be a tough test of their temperament as some big guns stand in their way in the Super 750 tournament.

Sindhu's first final appearance in a BWF World Tour event in more than a year will serve her well but the meldown in the decider after leading 11-3 to eventually lose the final against China's Wang Zhi Yi is something which will worry her camp.

The two-time Olympic medallist will have to quickly recover from the gut-wrenching loss as bigger battles lie ahead for her this week. She opens her campaign against Denmark's Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt. A win is likely to pit her against Rio Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain.