Guangzhou: P.V Sindhu’s bid to end the season with a gold will be a tough one while debutant Sameer Verma will need to produce his best to make the knockout stage when the BWF World Tour Finals begin on Wednesday. Sindhu has been the most impressive among the Indian shuttlers as she claimed silver medals at all the major events — Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and World Championship — besides finishing runner-up at the India Open and Thailand Open.
On Wednesday, the 23-year-old from Hyderabad, who had finished runner-up in the last edition in Dubai, will begin her quest in a tough group that includes world No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying, Japan’s world No. 2 and defending champion Akane Yamaguchi and her India Open conqueror Beiwen Zhang of the United States.
The top two from each group will qualify for the semi-finals.
“I hope I do well in this tournament,” said Sindhu. “I am confident of giving my best. It is one of the biggest tournaments with all the top players and it will be tough but I really want to win it.”
In the men’s singles, Sameer, who defended his title at the Syed Modi International last month to qualify for the year-ending event, has been drawn alongside Japanese world No. 1 Kento Momota, Indonesia’s Tommy Sugiarto and Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen.
— PTI
