Despite the withdrawal of Jwala Gutta from mixed doubles and women’s doubles due to a foot infection, and Anand Pawar from men’s singles due to back injury, the field for the Jaypee Cup Syed Modi International Grand Prix badminton tournament, still wears a rounded look.
With the arrival of World No. 7 Saina Nehwal and Chetan Anand, the organisers of the $50,000 (Rs 24 lakh) tournament heaved a sigh of relief. While some big names might be missing from the year-end tournament, there would be no dearth of talented shuttlers wanting to make a mark before the Senior National Championship, starting in Guwahati from January 2.
Ranked 25th in the country, P.V. Sindhu took little time to dispose of Rucha Nikam 21-6, 21-9 to make it to the main draw, while Juhi Dewangan struggled before brushing aside local girl Shivalaya Gupta 21-19, 21-11 to become the fourth qualifier.