New Delhi: India's ace shuttler Saina Nehwal will start her title defence in the Singapore Super Series badminton tournament against world number 24 Chinese Lu Lan in the women's singles Tuesday.
Saina, seeded fourth, would like to put behind the disappointment of her quarterfinal loss in Thailand Open and overcome her inconsistent form and ankle injury.
The Singapore Super Series was one of the three titles the World No.4 won last year. But this year she managed just Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold title and finished runner-up in the Malaysia Super Series.
Saina has also suffered losses against lower ranked players in the last few months, but her past record against Lan will give her some confidence. Saina had defeated her in the opening round of the Thailand Open.
If Saina manages to win the first round, she should make the quarterfinals easily. But in the last eight stage, she can face top seed Chinese Shixian Wang for a place in the semi-finals.
IANS
First Published: Tuesday, June 14, 2011, 21:49