Nehwal reportedly pulled out of the tournament at the last minute. The 29-year-old has been nursing several injuries and is focusing more on getting into shape for the World Championships next month, reports Times of India.
Injuries affected the plans of top shuttlers such as Saina and Sameer Verma, both of whom skipped the Indonesia Open.
Saina remains the only Indian player to have won a title this season. B Sai Praneeth and Kidambi Srikanth coming close when they reached the finals at Swiss Open and India Open respectively. Sindhu lost in the finals of the Indonesia.
Nehwal, who was looking good at the start of the season, was diagnosed with acute gastroenteritis with mild pancreatitis which affected her performance at the All England Championship. She recovered in time to play a few tournaments in April but injuries came back to haunt her as she struggled with fitness in the run-up to the Indonesia Open, a tournament she has won thrice in the past. The 29-year-old from Hyderabad had issues with her shin, ankle, hip, and wrist, which robbed her of enough practice time in an important year.
Sindhu will be keen to avenge that defeat to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi if they clash in the quarterfinals in Tokyo on Friday. Before that Sindhu has to get past Chinese youngsters Han Yue and probably Xiao Xin Chen in the first two rounds.