Saina Nehwal, Kashyap chase 'dream' All England championship title

BIRMINGHAM: After a win early in the season at Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold, top Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap will now look to chase their dream at the prestigious All England Championship that gets underway with the qualifiers here tomorrow.
After a good season in 2014 where she scooped three titles -- India Open, Australian Open and China Open, Saina began the new season with a bang clinching the Syed Modi title at Lucknow and she will look to continue her good run.

The World No. 3 Indian reached the semifinals in 2010 and 2013 but could not cross the last-four hurdle.

"I have never won the All England. I did reach the semis but could not go further. So I will try my best to improve my performance this year. It has always been a dream to win this title," Saina told PTI.

"I won at Indonesia, Denmark and China but this is one Super Series Premier event which I would love to win."

"It has been a good last one month. I have trained hard in Bangalore. By God's grace, I have no fitness issue. I hope to do well," she said.

Saina have got an easy draw as she plays a qualifier in the first two rounds before facing the likes of Yihan Wang of China, against whom she has a dismal 1-8 record.

For Kashyap, it will once again be a fight against a tough draw which pits him against sixth seed Chou Tien Chen in the opening round. The World No. 12 has beaten the Chinese Taipei shuttler twice in gruelling three-game matches.

Young K Srikanth, who hogged the limelight last year for winning the China Open Super Series Premier and rose to World No 4, will also be in action. The Guntur lad will face a tough test against Japan's Kento Momota in the first round.

Another young rising shuttler H S Prannoy, who claimed his maiden title at the Indonesian Masters Grand Prix Gold in Palembang last year, will also test his skills against the best. The Indian has got a relatively easy opponent in France's Brice Leverdez in the opening round.

Indian ace P V Sindhu, who had bagged five bronze last year, including a World Championship medal, a historic bronze medal at Uber Cup and Asian Games, will also fancy her chances, but she will have a mountain to climb in the first round as she faces reigning World Champion Carolina Marin.

Among other Indians, Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy will take on Chinese duo of Chai Biao and Hong Wei, seeded seventh in men's doubles competition, while 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallists Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa will face Malaysian combo of Amelia Alicia Anscelly and Fie Cho Soong in women's doubles.

In the qualifiers, Anand Pawar and Ajay Jayaram will compete.