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Sports

Sindhu aims to make amends, end title drought in Japan

Tokyo, July 22 

After missing out on her first title of the year and the first Super 1000 title of her career at the Indonesia Open, ace shuttler P.V. Sindhu will look to bounce back and end her 2019 title drought when she leads India's challenge at the Japan Open BWF World Tour Super 750 starting here on Tuesday.

Sindhu was beaten in straight games by Japan's Akane Yamaguchi in the final of the Indonesia Open on Sunday.

She lost 15-21, 16-21 in less than an hour to suffer her fifth defeat to Yamaguchi. This was the 15th meeting between the two players and Sindhu still holds a 10-5 head to head lead over the Japanese shuttler. 

The girl from Hyderabad will look to put her best foot forward in the opening match here, after which she will face either Scotland's Kirsty Gilmour or Japan's Aya Ohori in the second round.

The Indian shuttler will also aim to avenge her final defeat to Yamaguchi as she is likely to meet the World No.4 Japanese in the quarter-finals.

Compatriot Saina Nehwal, who gave the Indonesia Open a miss, will begin her sojourn against Thailand's Busanan Ongbamrungphan.

In the men's singles, it will be an all-Indian opening round battle between HS Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth.

B. Sai Praneeth will face Japan's Kenta Nishimoto.

Sameer Verma will take on Denmark's Anders Antonsen.

In the doubles draw, the men's pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will square off against England's Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge.

Manu Attri and B. Sumeeth Reddy will take on Malaysia's Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin in another men's doubles match.

The women's doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N. Sikki Reddy will face the Korean pair of Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong in the opening round.

The mixed doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Sikki will face top-seeded Chinese combination of Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong. Satwiksairaj and Ashwini will open against German pair of Marvin Seidel and Linda Efler in another mixed doubles match.