Competition: All England Open Badminton Championships
Venue: Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham
Category: Superseries Premier
Date: Thursday, 9th March, 2017
Time:
Women’s singles
(6) PV Sindhu vs Dinar Dyah Ayustine at 5.30pm IST
(8) Saina Nehwal vs Fabienne Deprez at 7.20pm IST
Men's singles
HS Prannoy vs (7) Tian Houwei at 6.30pm IST
Channel: Star Sports 2, Star Sports HD 2
Live streaming: Star Sports Hotstar, All England Badminton Youtube
Preview
(6) PV Sindhu (Rank: 6) vs Dinar Dyah Ayustine (Rank: 39)
Head-to-head: First meeting
22-year-old Ayustine does have a penchant for stretching the top players. Most recently, she took a game off Saina Nehwal at the Macau Open in December.
So, Sindhu cannot take her lightly despite the wide ranking difference. After the first few points in her opening round match, the sixth seed exhibited the impeccable form and aggression that she has been showing all along for the last few months.
If she can bring forth that game against the Indonesian, she can very well book her place in the quarter-finals in straight games.
Follow live updates and commentary here: All England Open: PV Sindhu vs Dinar Dyah Ayustine Second Round Live Updates and Match Commentary
(8) Saina Nehwal (Rank: 9) vs Fabienne Deprez (Rank: 63)
Head-to-head: Nehwal leads 1-0
During her straight-game rout of the defending champion Nozomi Okuhara, Saina’s all-court movement was noteworthy. It thoroughly established that the one-month hiatus that she had opted for has done her a world of good and has brought back the hunger that she is known for.
A commanding victory over the Rio Olympics bronze medallist surely bolstered her confidence further and there is no reason why she cannot notch up yet another straight-games win for a quarter-final berth.
Follow live updates and commentary here: All England Open: Saina Nehwal vs Fabienne Deprez Second Round Live Updates and Match Commentary
HS Prannoy (Rank: 22) vs (7) Tia Houwei (Rank: 6)
Head-to-head: First meeting
There is a reason why HS Prannoy is often referred to as the smiling assassin. When his attacking game is on point, he can beat anyone out there on the opposite side of the net.
But there are times when he struggles to hold it all together. That was evident during the first half of his first round match against the 24th ranked Qiao Bin yesterday. He managed to summon his courage just in time to make a stunning comeback from 16-19 down in the decider to take five points on the trot for the win.
World No. 6 Tian Houwei definitely won’t give him a second chance. If Prannoy really wants that much-coveted last-eight spot, he needs to be at his threatening best right from the start.
