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The wait is almost over with the arrival of the final BWF Super 1000 event on the annual badminton calendar. The China Open 2019 has flung open the gates to welcome the Indian shuttlers and all eyes are on PV Sindhu. The newly-crowned world champion, Sindhu is enjoying the prime time of her career with the long-craved yellow metal adorning her neck. This tournament is no strange territory for the lanky Hyderabadi as she has been a former champion in 2016, besides being a three-time quarter-finalist.
After the surreal BWF World Championships win in Basel a little over a fortnight ago, Sindhu is raring to go. If we are to judge by her performances at the Indonesia Open and then at the World Championships, it will be pretty evident that the 24-year-old is hungry for success and is stubborn about achieving it.
Sindhu has tamed the best players in the circuit in the last 2 months, which has surely given her a lot of confidence. Although she is in razor-sharp form and it is very difficult to find a flaw with her performance, the looming challenge of facing Li Xuerui should not be undermined.
The former World Number 1 for 124 weeks, Xuerui boasts of having won 14 Superseries titles in her career so far. The 28-year-old Chinese may have plummeted to 19 in the world rankings now but there is no denying her greatness on court.
Sindhu has faced Xuerui on 6 occasions and they have shared the wins equally. The 2012 London Olympics gold medallist, Xuerui is going to be a tricky challenge for the 2016 Rio Olympics silver medalist from Hyderabad. However, given Sindhu's current form and the fact that she handed Li Xuerui a defeat in their last meeting at the Indonesia Masters earlier this year, the advantage is with the Indian.
With all guns blazing, Sindhu is ready to charge into the China Open and better her 2018 result of a quarter-final defeat against Chen Yufei. After the kind of composure she has exhibited in her last few matches, the Indian shuttler is well destined for success, provided she is consistent with her performance. The injury-prone Li Xuerui might be trouble for Sindhu but the reigning world champion has all the right ammunition required to take Xuerui down and race into the second round.
Here is all you need to know about the China Open 2019:
Tournament: VICTOR China Open 2019
Category: BWF Super 1000
Location: Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in Changzhou, Jiangsu, China
Schedule: [5] PV Sindhu v Li Xuerui first round not before 12:30 pm local time or 10:00 am IST on Wednesday, September 18, 2019.
Where to watch the matches in India?
The matches will be telecast on Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 2 HD.
Live Stream Details and Info for the matches:
China Open 2019 can be streamed live on Hotstar.
