All England Open 2021: Tough draws for Saina, Srikanth

Saina has drawn the in-form Danish player Mia Blichfeldt, who beat Sindhu in the first round of the first Thailand Open in January. Srikanth starts his tournament against Indonesian Tommy Sugiarto.

New Delhi: London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal and former world no.1 Kidambi Srikanth were handed tough draws in the 2021 All England Championships.

Reigning world champion PV Sindhu, meanwhile will face lower ranked opposition in the initial rounds before potentially coming up against Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi and Spanish Olympic champion Carolina Marin.

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Saina has drawn the in-form Danish player Mia Blichfeldt, who beat Sindhu in the first round of the first Thailand Open in January. Srikanth starts his tournament against Indonesian Tommy Sugiarto. World championships bronze medallist B Sai Praneeth, meanwhile, faces France’s Toma Junior Popov.

Sindhu, who is seeded fifth, will face Malaysia’s Soniia Cheah in her first round match.
Star men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty face Eloi Adam and Julien Maio of France while women’s doubles pair Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy face Benyapa Aimsaard and Nuntakarn Aimsaard of Thailand.