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It's that time of the year again, The 22nd edition of the Badminton World Championships will star on Monday in Jakarta. With Olympic qualifications, the top priority in the minds of every player, this tournament provides an ideal opportunity for everybody to stake a claim to qualify for the Summer Games.There are many questions that need to be answered. Will Sindhu rub her poor form off and win her third straight medal? Will Saina wil her maiden World Championships medal? Will Li Xuerui reclaim her top position?It promises to be an exciting 6 days moving forward. Here are the top 5 female contenders.
#5 P V Sindhu
The bronze medalist at the previous two World Championships, P V Sindhu certainly has her task cut out in order to win her third straight medal in the competition. The 20-year-old has been in scratchy form ever since making a comeback at the Badminton Asian Championships, where she bowed out at the quarterfinal mark.
Sindhu suffered consecutive opening round defeats at the Australian and Indonesian Opens and was knocked out in the second round of the Chinese Taipei last month. So while she clearly doesn't look the favourite on current form, her proven track record at the tournament will defeinitely giver her and her fans the confidence that she could shake off her poor form and win her third straight medal.
#4 Ratchanok Intanon
The 2013 World Championships gold medalist, Ratchanok Intanon will be looking to win her second medal at the competition when it begins on the 10th of August at Jakarta. The 20-year-old has had a good time in 2015, so far winning the Badminton Asia Championships, by defeating Li Xuerui of China in the final and then winning the Indonesia open in June by beating Yui Hashimoto in the final.
Currently ranked 5th in the world, Intanon could be the darkhorse that many wouldn't want to face and it would be intriguing to see if she can overcome the likes of Saina Nehwal, Li Xuerui etc and secure her second medal at the World Championships.
#3 Li Xuerui
A runners-up in the last 2 editions of the World Championships in Paris and Copenhagen in 2013 and 2014 respectively, former World No.1 Li Xuerui will look to go one step further and win her maiden World Championships gold this year.
The 24-year-old finished as the runners-up at the Badminton Asia Championships, losing to Ratchanok Intanon in the final and then suffered another blow at the Australian Open, losing to Sung Ji Hyun of South Korea in the quarterfinals.
However, it hasnt been all gloom for Li as she was part of the victorious Sudirman Cup campaign in 2015, playing an important role in the triumph. Currently rranked 3rd in the world, a strong performance here could help her retain her numero uno status again and there’s little doubting that she would
#2 Saina Nehwal
Without a question the biggest hope from India, Saina Nehwal will certainly be looking to go all out to claim her maiden World Championships medal. The 25-year-old has reached the quarterfinal stage om each of her 5 World Championships appearances and she will look to her end that run and claim her maiden medal.
The year 2015 began very well for the India, as she beat Carolina Marin to win the Syed Modi International. However, she had to face disappointment at the All England Championships, finishing second-best to Marin.
However, she created history in March when, by winning the Indonesia Open, she became the first Indian womens shuttler and only the second after Prakash Padukone to be crowned World No.1.
But following that historic achievemenet, Sain suffered back-to-baclk quatrterfinal losses to Wang Shixian of China at the Australia and Indonesian Open. Those defeats, not withstanding, she will definitely be Indias biggest hope at the competition and will personally look to win her first World Championships medal.
#1 Carolina Marin
The current World Number 1 and the defending champion, Carolina Marin will start as the favourite to retain her title in Jakarta, starting on Monday. The 22-year-old began her year with a runners-up finish at the Syed Modi International, losing to Sain Nehwal in the final.
Howevevr, she avenged that loss to the Indian at the All England Championships in March, defeating Saina in three games 21-16 14-21 7-21 in the final to win her maiden All England Open title.
She backed that up with the Malaysian Open title victory, defeating Li Xuerui in the final and then follwed that victory by winning the Australian Open in May.
The 2014 World Championships victory made Marin the youngest European shuttler to lift the crown and also the first Spaniard to win the the titel. If she can repeat her feat at Jakarta is something that remains to be seen.
