Denmark Open Series: Expectations will be sky high on P.V. Sindhu 

Expectations will be sky-high when Olympic silver-medallist P. V. Sindhu returns to international circuit this week, spearheading the Indian campaign at the Denmark Open Super Series starting tomorrow.

Sindhu, seeded sixth, will open her campaign against China’s He Bingjiao on Wednesday. She might face the likes of of second seed Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand, fourth seeded Korean, Sung Ji Hyun and the fifth seeded Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei if she progresses.

With Saina Nehwal recovering from a knee injury that spoilt her Olympic campaign, all eyes will be on Sindhu and the Indian is aware of the expectations.

“Olympics has given me a lot of confidence and with the same confidence I hope I would go further. Responsibilities will always be high from now on. It’s just that I shouldn’t take much of pressure and play my game. I just want to go to the court and give my 100 per cent,” said Sindhu, who has a 1-3 head-to-head record against Bingjiao.

Sindhu's best performance at a Super Series tournament has been a runner-up finish at Denmark Open last year.

AJAY JAYARAM LEADS MEN'S SINGLES CAMPAIGN

In the men’s singles competitions, Ajay Jayaram will look to continue his good run after finishing second at the Dutch Open Grand Prix yesterday. The 29-year-old will start his campaign against Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana.

While Rio Olympics quarter-finalist K. Srikanth will be missing in action due to an ankle injury, other Indians such as B. Sai Praneeth, H. S. Prannoy and P. Kashyap will be competing in a tough field.

Sai Praneeth will face Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk of Thailand, while Prannoy will take on a qualifier in the opening round on Wednesday.

Commonwealth Games champion Kashyap, who is on a comeback trail, will face off Raul Must of Estonia. The Indian had lost to Raul last week at Dutch Open Grand Prix and will look to avenge his defeat In men’s doubles, Manu Attri and Reddy B Sumeeth will square off against Denmark’s Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, while Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar will meet eighth-seeded Chinese combo of Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen.

The Indian mixed doubles pair of Pranaav and N. Sikki Reddy, who clinched two titles this season in Brazil and Russia, will start their campaign against fifth seeds Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna Pedersen of Denmark tomorrow.