With the highly-coveted Tokyo Olympics berth in sight, top shuttlers return to the court at the Swiss Open which to be held from March 2 to 7 in Basel. With this Super 300 tournament, the Olympic berth qualifying window is up for grabs and will continue to be till June 15.
The Indian contingent will be spearheaded by PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal, who is headed for a much-awaited semi-final clash.
PV Sindhu has received second seeding in the 32-player field and this tournament will be her big test and help her to seal her Tokyo spot.
The Rio Olympic silver medallist didn’t have the best of outings in January with her entering the quarterfinals in the three Thailand tournaments being her best performance. Sindhu would be eager to bounce back.
She opens her campaign with a match against World No 29 Neslihan Yigit. After which she would have a second-round showdown with Indonesia’s Russeli Hartawan and is also slated to come across fifth seed Busanan Ongbamrungphan.
Either the fourth seed Mia Blichfeldt, sixth seed Ji Hyun Sung or the unseeded Saina Nehwal could await her in the semis.
While Blichfeldt got better of Sindhu at the Yonex Thailand Open, Ji Hyun Sung has beaten her eight times and Saina Nehwal holds a 3-1 lead in a head-to-head record with Sindhu. The two Indian shuttlers haven’t crossed each other since the 2018 Commonwealth games.
The Swiss Open has been a place of glory for the former World No. 1 Nehwal who has tasted victory at this tournament twice in the past. India No 2 starts her campaign against World Junior Championship bronze medallist Phittayaporn Chaiwan. If she beats the youngster, Saina would face Ji Hyun Sung with whom she has a 9-3 win record.
