Sindhu leads Indian charge in Saina's absence at Hong Kong Open

The men’s contingent would be looking forward to turning around their fortunes given their poor show in the last few tournaments. Ajay Jayaram will yet again face his Chinese nemesis Chen Long in the first round. The Indian lost the previous encounter badly and would look for redemption this time, but will have to put his best foot forward- potentially by changing his defensive style of play and initiating a more aggressive game play.

In the women’s section, P V Sindhu faces an uphill task in her first round as she faces off against the All England and World Champion, Carolina Marin. The lanky Indian shuttler, trails marginally at 2-3 in the head-to-head stats. She has a good chance to equalize that record as Marin comes on the back of an early exit at the China Open.

Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa, the only Indian doubles pair at the event, will face stiff competition in their first match of the event when they face 8th seeds Jung Kyung Eun & Shin Seung Chan from Korea.