BANGKOK: The successive losses to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi have been disappointing but Indian ace P V Sindhu will have to put it all behind when she renews her chase for a maiden title this year in the Thailand Open badminton tournament, starting here on Tuesday.
The last two weeks have been an emotional roller-coaster ride for Sindhu as after finishing second-best at the Indonesia Open, she was shown the door in the quarterfinals of the Japan Open last week.
On both occasions, familiar foe Yamaguchi turned out to be Sindhu’s nemesis.
The Indian would be desperate to break her seven-month long title jinx.
Seeded fourth, Sindhu will open her women’s singles campaign against unseeded Chinese Han Yue, whom she easily overcame in the first round of Japan Open.
If all goes well, Sindhu might face her first real test in the quarterfinals with a possible clash against sixth seed Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand.
The other Indian in fray, Saina Nehwal has been seeded seventh here, but she has been hampered by several injuries of late.
Saina was forced to withdraw from both the Indonesia and Japan Open on medical grounds as she is focussing on getting into shape for next month’s World Championships. She has been pitted against a qualifier in the opening round.
In men’s singles, Shubhankar Dey has got a tough opening round against top seed Kento Momota of Japan, while B Sai Pranneeth, who lost in the semifinals last week, is up against Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen.
If both the Indians manage to get past the first hurdle, they will face each other next.
Fifth seed Kidambi Srikanth will take on a qualifier, while H S Prannoy will be up against Wong Wing Ki Vincent of Hong Kong in the opening round.
Sameer Verma, seeded eighth, will face Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia while Parupalli Kashyap will take on France’s Brice Leverdez.
Sourabh Verma and Ajay Jayaram will have to go through the qualifiers.
While Sourabh will play top seed Shesar Hiren Rhustavito of Indonesia in the first qualifying round, Jayaram will face Chinese Zhou Ze Qi.
In men’s doubles, two Indian pairs feature but only one among them will progress to the next round.
The combinations of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty and Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy will face each other in the opening round.
The lone Indian pair in women’s doubles — Ashwini Ponappa and N Sikki Reddy — will be up against the Chinese duo of Li Wen Mei and Zheng Yu in the opening round.
In mixed doubles, Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy are drawn against the Japanese combination of Kohei Gondo and Ayane Kurihara while the pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ponnappa have a tough task at hand as they are pitted against fifth seed Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying of Malaysia. (AGENCIES)
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AUS-CRICKET-CAMPAIGN
Australia to start USD 3.4 mn campaign to woo
Indians ahead of T20 world cups
MELBOURNE, July 29:
Australia said it would start a USD 3.4 million (Aus $ 5 mn) advertisement campaign next month to woo the Indian tourists ahead of the next year’s ICC T20 World Cups for both men and women, country’s authorities said on Monday.
Australia will host the ICC T20 World Cups for both men and women in 2020.
Australia’s Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham said the new campaign would be used to increase Australia’s broader destination appeal in India.
“India was already Australia’s fastest growing visitor market, worth about 1.7 billion Australian dollar each year and that the new campaign would be used for marketing activities to drive visitation to both the women’s and men’s tournaments, as well as increase Australia’s broader destination appeal in India,” Birmingham said.
Noting major sporting events have far reaching impacts on tourism, he said they would be a significant drivers of visitors demand.
“We know from research that major sporting events have far reaching impacts and are significant drivers of visitor demand, with 16 per cent of all international visitors attending a sporting or cultural event during their trip. These visitors are also known to stay longer and spend more than the average international traveller,” Birmingham said.
The Sports sector is estimated to deliver around USD 50 billion a year in direct economic, productivity and volunteering benefits to Australia and also help to grow businesses and to drive investment for the country.
Highlighting the visitation forecast was to grow four-fold to reach nearly 1.2 million by 2035 from India, the minister said: “The recently released India Economic Strategy specifically identified the need for increased tourism marketing activity in India to ensure the market reaches its full potential.”
“These World Cups represent the perfect opportunity to encourage Indians to book a flight to Australia to cheer on their team from cities and stadiums all over the country, while also taking the time to explore our wonderful tourism offerings,” he said.
Minister for Sport Richard Colbeck said the ICC T20 World Cup 2020 would shine a spotlight on the nation as a global leader in sport and major events.
“Securing major sporting events for Australia is crucial for nurturing our rich sporting culture,” Colbeck said, adding such elite events invigorate and unite the industry from the grassroots level up and encourage all Australians to get active and fit.
“The ICC T20 World Cup 2020 is no exception. More than one million fans are expected to attend this significant event, which will be played as two standalone tournaments for women and men,” he said.
“This will ensure that each tournament receives maximum exposure and will allow Australians the rare opportunity to enjoy world-class cricket right on their doorstep throughout the year; while continuing to advance cricket as a sport for women and girls and inspiring the next generation of kids across Australia to play cricket,” he added.
Colbeck said the sports sector is estimated to deliver around USD 50 billion a year in direct economic, productivity and volunteering benefits and also help to grow businesses and to drive investment for Australia. (AGENCIES)
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