Tribune News Service
Vinayak Padmadeo
New Delhi, January 16
PV Sindhu and Carolina Marin address each other as friends in public. That sure holds true for both of them, but all the camaraderie between them will blur once they take the court at the India Open, which begins at the KD Jadhav Hall of the Indira Gandhi Stadium tomorrow.
On a comeback trail after missing out most of the action last year due to injuries, both will be looking to make up for the Malaysia Open disappointment.
Marin tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus in her left knee before the Tokyo Olympics. This was her second major injury after suffering an ACL tear in her right knee in 2019. On the other hand, Sindhu was sidelined for over five months due to a stress fracture in her left knee.
The two returned to action at the Malaysian Open, where the Spaniard tamed the Indian 21-12 10-21 21-15 in the first round.
With the injuries healed, eight-seeded Sindhu and unseeded Marin will look to get going at the Super 750 tournament.
“I am prepared for it and I am very happy because I am back from injury and really looking forward to it. It (India Open) will be a 750 tournament for the first time and top players will be here. It is going to be exciting as this time we will have the fans back as last time there were few people because of the pandemic,” Sindhu said today.
And she made it a point to mention her last game against world No.9 Marin as a pointer that she was getting back to her best. “I was happy that I could play my best against her (Marin) after the injury. I took her to three games. So I was satisfied as I was coming back from injury. After the comeback, you need to get back to those confidence levels to get out and play your best so I am happy as I gave my 100 per cent,” she added.
Marin, 29, too touched on the on-court rivalry between them. “I am happy to beat her. I know most of you will hate me for this because I beat your (Indian) player. But this is sport, I have a lovely off-court relationship but the moment we enter the court, every player is your opponent,” she said.
India open
Indians in the draw
Men’s singles: Lakshya Sen vs HS Prannoy
Men’s doubles: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/ Chirag Shetty vs Christopher Grimley/ Mathew Grimley
Women’s singles: PV Sindhu vs Supanida Katethong, Mia Blichfeld vs Saina Nehwal Women’s doubles: Margot Lambert/ Anne Tran vs Treesa Jolly/ Gayatri Gopichand
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