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Moving on to the singles, where India seem to have a greater chance of securing a medal, all the players come in as true contenders. And amongst them, Saina Nehwal is the clear leader. The 25-year-old, who ascended to the top spot only recently, has the opportunity to reclaim it at the end of this event. A peek into her previous performances at the World Championships would throw up an interesting fact. She played her first World Championships in 2009 in Hyderabad and has lost exactly in the quarterfinals each time, with all the defeats coming against Chinese players.
This has been one of the most worrying records of her career and is interlinked to her bad record against the Chinese though she has managed some very good wins against them. This year, second seed Saina is drawn to face Sayaka Takahashi in the pre-quarters and then Wang Yihan in the quarters. Her rivalry with the Former no.1 has been dominated by Yihan with the Chinese claiming nine wins against one that Saina managed at the All England Championships earlier this year apart from a retirement by Yihan at the 2012 Denmark Open.
She has had a memorable last 12 months, which has seen her rise to the top of the world rankings and finish runners-up at the All England Championships and also clinched the China Open Superseries Premier.If not for the record at the World Championships, Saina’s inability to win the Indian Open Super Series despite taking part every year would have counted as a major burden on her back.
The Hyderabadi won it earlier this year, and what more, she also got the coveted no.1 ranking that had been another such worry. At 25, she is at the prime of her career and is well poised to break the quarterfinal jinx at the city which saw her capture her first Superseries title and then repeat it another two times. In fact, she has stated many times that the crowd in Indonesia has been very supportive of her.
Looking beyond the quarterfinals, when she would be assured of her medal, a semifinal encounter would involve facing the winner of the likely quarterfinal clash between Ratchanok Inthanon and Tai Tzu Ying, two other players who have dominated in the last few months along with Saina and Carolina Marin to unsettle the Chinese.
The top half of the draw features another Indian hope - PV Sindhu. The 20-year-old has two bronze medals to her credit from her exploits in 2013 and 2014. The Indian, who is seeded eleventh, will look to make her better record against the Chinese count and could face Li Xuerui for a spot in the quarterfinals. Further progress would include possible meetings with Sung Ji Hyun in the quarters and Carolina Marin, the World no.1 and defending Champion, or Wang Shixian in the semis.
Despite her record at never having returned medal-less from the World Championships, Sindhu could face an early exit this time around with very little tournament practice prior to the event. She was injured and had taken a few months off from the tournament spree. Yet, she could surprise many with her result at this event.
Men’s Singles players also look to give for celebration this time around. Carrying the torch for the team is the world no.3 Kidambi Srikanth. He faces Michael of New Zealand in the opening round. With easy first and second rounds, he is drawn to face Hu Yun in the third round. His toughest test, though, will come in the quarterfinals, where he could play Wang Zhengming, Marc Zwiebler or Lee Chong Wei.
While he enjoys a positive head to head against the German, he has lost all four times he played the Malaysian. He is yet to play against the Chinese. Progressing further, he could face Jan O Jorgensen or Lin Dan in the semi-finals. Apart from a tough quarterfinal, his form in recent tournaments has been a cause of concern. After winning the Indian Open Super Series, he has lost in the second round of all the five tournaments he played. If he is not able to make a turnaround, he might as well falter at the first instance of resistance.
The player with the better chance to win a medal is Parupalli Kashyap, who has a better draw as is in better form. He will open against Erik Meijs in the first round.He is seeded tenth and is likely to face Kento Momota in the third round. He could then face Chou Tien Chen or Tommy Sugiarto in the quarters. Semifinals could see him being pitched against Chen Long or Viktor Axelsen.
With some amazing results to his credit from his exploits in the last one year, Kashyap is inching closer to his career best ranking of no.6 in the world. With his fine form, he is tipped to win a medal this time around. His biggest threat could be Kento Momota, the player who denied him the chance to win his first Superseries title at the Indonesia Open earlier this after he defeated Kashyap in the semifinals despite his fine form which saw him beat Chen Long in the previous round. Interestingly, Jakarta is the city where Kashyap has managed two wins over Chen Long, whom he could face in the semifinals.
The other Indian in is HS Prannoy, the eleventh seed. He starts his campaign against Alex Tjong of Brazil. He also has an easy outing till the third round, where he could face rising star Viktor Axelsen. The Dane has won their previous two encounters. Even if he manages to pull off an upset. the likely quarterfinal against Chen Long would be a tough match to win. Prannoy has not played since the Singapore Open due to injury.
Expecting him to go far on his very first tournament back could be asking for too much. Yet, this lad has the potential to make some big names wince when they face him. He was slowly on the rise before injury halted his progress. He will look to resume his good performances with an eye on a Rio berth.
Having previewed the Indian team’s prospects, it can be said that this year could be the first time that Indians could return with multiple medals from the World Championships. Let’s hope for the best results from our stars!
