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Two superstars of Indian badminton
Saina Nehwal and P.V Sindhu are the two gems of Indian Badminton, one is the the Olympic bronze medalist and other is the two time World Championships bronze medalist. One is the Badminton Queen of India, other is the Indian teenage Badminton sensation.
The year 2014 has been a decent year for both these shuttlers. Saina won the Australian Superseries title in June, whereas Pusrala Venkata Sindhu grabbed the bronze in World Championships last month. In the ongoing Asian Games in Incheon,South Korea, Saina Nehwal, who is the World No. 7 defeated the World ranked 5 Thai shuttler Intanon Ratchanok in the Quarterfinals and then thrashed the World No. 4 Korean shuttler Ji Hyun Sung in the semis of the team event.
P.V Sindhu was in supreme touch against the World No. 12 Thai shuttler in the quarterfinals as she defeated her 21-15, 21-13 in just 30 minutes. However, she faltered against the World No. 6 Yeon Ju Bae in a tough three game match in the semifinals and as a result Indian team lost 1-3 to the host nation and had to be satisfied with the bronze medal.
There was a lot to cheer about as this was India's first medal in badminton since the team bronze won by the men in Seoul, 1986 and first medal won by women ever in the Asian Games history.
Tough draws to contend with
But now all the focus will shift to the individual events as they will get underway from 24th of September. Both the Indian women have got a tough draw in the games.
World No. 7 Saina Nehwal would be up against the World No. 3 and second seed Wang Yihan of China if she wins her first and second round matches against less fancied opponents. Saina has a very bad win-loss record against the higher ranked Chinese player; she has managed to defeat her just once in their previous nine encounters.
Saina has lost to Wang twice in this year, but on the other hand Wang is also not in the best of form as she lost in the second round in the last three tournaments she has played.
World No. 10 P.V. Sindhu also has a tough task if she reaches the Quartefinals as she is expected to meet the reigning Olympic Champion and current World No. 1 Li Xuerui of China in the quarterfinals.
Li is in red hot form this year as she has lost just one match in her last four tournaments. 19 year old, Indian ace, who is having a win-loss record of 1-1 against the Chinese player needs to be at her best if she wants to edge past her higher ranked rival.
So looking at the draws of the Asian Games and current forms of Saina, Sindhu, Wang and Li, it seems that Saina Nehwal has a better chance of reaching the semifinals and winning the medal. At the same time, the chances of Sindhu cannot be ignored as she is also capable of defeating the best in the world.
May the best woman win!
