All England Open 2018: PV Sindhu vs Nozomi Okuhara quarter-final preview, schedule, start time, telecast and how to watch online

(4) PV Sindhu (WR #3) vs (7) Nozomi Okuhara (WR #6)

Head-to-head: Okuhara leads 5-4

Last meeting: Okuhara def Sindhu 21-18, 21-18 at the 2017 Japan Open second round

PV Sindhu and Nozomi Okuhara get to reprise their fabulous rivalry for a shot at a semi-final berth at the All England Open 2018. The two held the sports world spellbound during their stunning final at the World Championships last year, which clocked 1 hour 50 minutes.

Sindhu and Okuhara met twice after that and they exchanged wins in those couple of matches. The Japanese was struck with a knee injury at the Japan Open in September and she tearfully bade farewell to her home tournament only to return to the Tour in January end.

Okuhara is clearly not at her 100% but it is suffice to say that the Japanese is gaining in confidence with every win. She breezed through her first two rounds and very much has the energy to engage with Sindhu in long rallies that form the bulwark of her game.

In contrast, the lanky Indian had to labour in both her two matches in Birmingham so far and has already spent more than two hours on the court. That could be a deterrent to Sindhu’s performance in today’s blockbuster clash, considering the fact that Okuhara will force her to do a lot of legwork.

Okuhara as well as her compatriot, Akane Yamaguchi have mastered the art of moving the tall Sindhu around in order to tire her out and eke errors out of her racquet. The Rio Olympic silver medallist has had a sudden dip in her levels of aggression and intensity in her first two rounds, the recurrence of which could be costly against a player of the stature of Okuhara.

The Japanese is adept at her net game as well and would be keen to finish rallies with dropshots by pinning Sindhu to the backcourt. She also has more experience at this level, having conquered the All England Open back in 2016.

Sindhu has never made it past the quarter-finals and would be motivated to crack the last-four stage this time. But for that, she would need to be speedy, alert and use her smashes well to make the rallies shorter as the longer they get, the chances will be higher for an Okuhara win.

Also, on court will be the unseeded HS Prannoy, who takes on the Kidambi Srikanth-conqueror, Huang Yuxiang. The World No. 42 has a 2-1 head-to-head record over the 16th ranked Prannoy and won their last match at the Indonesian Masters in 2016.

Here is all the information you need to know

Tournament name: Yonex All England Open 2018

Started in: 1899

Category: BWF World Tour Super 1000

Total prize money: $1,000,000

Venue: Arena Birmingham, UK

Round: Quarter-finals

Date: Friday, March 16, 2018

Schedule of India’s matches:

Women’s singles -

(4) PV Sindhu vs (7) Nozomi Okuhara at approx 6.15pm

Men’s singles -

HS Prannoy vs Huang Yuxiang at approx 1.15am (March 17)

(All timings in Indian Standard Time)

Channel: Star Sports 2 & Star Sports 2 HD

Live Streaming: Badmintonworld.tv on Youtube

Live Updates: On Sportskeeda