Saina out to defend title in Indonesia

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Three-time champion Saina Nehwal will look to fashion a turnaround when she returns to her favourite hunting ground at the Indonesian Super Series Premier badminton tournament to defend her women’s singles title from Tuesday.
The world number two Indian has been going through a lean patch this season. Though she reached the semi-finals of the All England and Swiss Open earlier this year, Saina has not been able to win a tournament since last October.
The Olympic bronze medallist also suffered a couple of defeats to lower-ranked players like Yui Hashimoto of Japan in the India Open Super Series and Singapore’s Juan Gu at the just-concluded Thailand Open.
But the 23-year-old from Hyderabad, who has scripted many memorable wins at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno Stadium here, will look to get her bearings when she opens her title defence against local player Lindaweni Fanetri on Tuesday.
The 2009, 2010 and 2012 winner has been clubbed in the second half of the draw and is likely to meet seventh seed Chinese Wang Shixian in the quarter-finals if she can get past the two initial rounds.
Further, Saina can run into fourth seeded German Juliane Schenk in the semi-finals.
Top seed Li Xuerui, third seed Wang Yihan of China and teen Thai sensation Ratchanok Intanon, seeded fifth, who won the Thailand Grand Prix last week, are in the first half of the draw.
In the men’s singles, world no. 10 Parupalli Kashyap will open his campaign against 19th ranked Sho Sasaki of Japan. The Indian lost to the Japanese during the India Grand Prix Gold in 2008.
If he wins, Kashyap is likely to meet eighth seed Thai Boonsak Ponsana in the second round.