Saina, who has been battling illness and injuries, is going through a bad patch, having lost six times in the first round this season.
The 24-year-old from Hyderabad will begin her campaign against China's Li Xuerui, a former Olympic gold medallist and World No 1.
Her frequent losses in the finals and the accompanying criticism does not affect ace shuttler PV Sindhu, who, on Saturday, said playing in the summit showdown of a tournament itself is 'a big achievement'.
A two-time bronze medallist at the World Championships, Sindhu has risen rapidly up the rankings since becoming the first Indian woman to win an Olympic silver medal, at the Rio Games last year.
This is Saina's first win over the South Korean, who got the better of the Indian in the quarter-finals of the French Open last year.
National badminton coach, Pullela Gopichand, on Wednesday expressed happiness at the performance this year of Indian shuttlers and termed Kidambi Srikanth's feat of winning four Super Series titles as 'phenomenal'.
The Indian ace, who attained a career-best No 1 after winning the India Open at the end of March, dropped a rung in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings, released on Thursday. Defeat in the semi-finals of the Malaysia Open Super Series Premier to reigning Olympic champion Li Xuerui of China saw the London Olympics bronze medallist drop to No 2.
Unbeaten so far, Vijender is unfazed and said the height of his opponent -- who stands at 6 feet 4 inches.
The third-seeded Indian defeated World No. 39 Saena Kawakami of Japan 21-15, 21-13 in the opening round at the Olympic Sports Center Xincheng Gymnasium.
PV Sindhu finally fetched India its first ever World Championships gold in the sport but spent rest of the year struggling for form.
PTI introduces the team, who is aiming for medals when India's campaign at the Tokyo Games commences on July 24.
Reigning World champion and title favourite P V Sindhu sailed into the pre-quarter-finals at the China Open Super 1000 tournament with a convincing straight-games victory over former Olympic gold medallist Li Xuerui, in Changzhou, on Wednesday.
Saina had pulled out of the opening round of All England Open Championships last week after suffering a thigh injury.
Currently ranked world No. 5. Born in Hisar, Haryana, but grew up in Hyderabad. Playing badminton since she was eight.
Rio Olympic silver medallist Sindhu, who made early exits at the China Open and Korea Open, dropped to the 6th spot after five months and the former World No 2 shuttler will look to make amends at the Denmark Open and French Open.
BAI cancels preparatory camp.
London Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal has pulled out of the US$350,000 Singapore Super Series to spend more time in training to improve her game ahead of the hectic international circuit.
Mary Kom (51kg) will open her campaign against Dominica's Miguelina Hernandez on July 25; Panghal gets bye into pre-quarters.
Mary Kom, who is an Asian Games winner and Commonwealth Games gold medallist, will start the tournament as favourite in the women's category.
The London Olympic bronze medallist will face either Denmark's Line Christophersen or compatriot Ira Sharma for a place in the finals at the Super 100 event, which is a part of BWF's revised Olympic qualification events.
Kidambi Srikanth is against any drastic changes in the scoring system being contemplated by the world body.
Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu was the only bright spot on a dismal day for Indian badminton as she progressed to the quarter-finals with a straight-game win at the US $350,000 Thailand Open World Super 500 tournament in Bangkok on Thursday.
Kohli had argued that the batsman should be declared out if the ball is hitting the stumps, even if marginally.
Terming the Siri Fort stadium as her happy hunting ground, World No 3 Saina Nehwal expressed confidence of putting up a good show in the upcoming Indian Open Super Series, which begins on Tuesday.
'I have to be more consistent in the coming months,' Kidambi Srikanth, who won the Indonesia Super Series Premier and the Australia Super Series earlier this year and the Denmark Open on Sunday, tells Amit Kumar Das in Odense, Denmark.
London Olympics bronze medallist Saina staved off a spirited challenge from World No 44 Mette Poulsen of Denmark 21-19, 23-21 in a 46-minute match.
All eyes will be on Indian ace Saina Nehwal when she returns to the court after an injury lay-off at the All England Championship, hoping to better last year's runner-up finish at the prestigious event which begins with the qualifiers in Birmingham.
Sameer Verma advanced to the semi-finals of the US $150,000 Swiss Open with an easy victory over former world No. 2 Kento Momota of Japan, in Basel, on Saturday.
Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal on Wednesday fought hard to defeat Indonesia's Hanna Ramadini and enter the second round in the women's singles event of the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament. Saina defeated World No. 44 Hanna 21-23, 21-14, 21-18 in a match that lasted more than an hour. She will take on Dinar Dyah Ayustine in the second round.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Vikas, who has signed up with the legendary Bob Arum's Top Rank Promotions, made his debut in what was to be a six-round super welterweight contest. The bout, however, lasted just two rounds.
Sindhu and Saina will once again be India's best bet as they look to put up a good show this week.
Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal said 2018 was a tough year for Indian badminton as players hardly got any breaks to recover between tournaments.
After missing out on Rio Olympics last year due to a knee surgery, a fit-again Parupalli Kashyap is racing against time to regain his place in the Indian team and defend his title at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
This year PV Sindhu has reached the summit clash at India Open, the Commonwealth Games and the Thailand Open but failed to cross the final hurdle, prompting many critics to once again describe her as the 'perennial bridesmaid'.
In the absence of Saina Nehwal, Commonwealth Games bronze medallist P Kashyap will spearhead India's challenge in the season-opening Malaysian Open Super Series badminton tournament starting in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
Despite clinching the Macau Open title for the third time, India's ace shuttler P V Sindhu remained static at 12th position in the latest BWF world ranking released on Thursday. Saina Nehwal also held on to her number two position but a poor run of form saw K Srikanth lose a spot and slip to World No. 9.
The 33-year-old from Hyderabad, who is the lone Indian left in fray, outsmarted Jorgensen 24-22, 21-8 in 37 minutes
Parupalli Kashyap regained his place inside the top 10 in the latest BWF's world ranking, release on Thurday.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty became the first Indian pair to win a BWF Super 500 badminton tournament with a hard-fought victory over Li Jun Hui and Liu Yu Chen of China in the final of Thailand Open.
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