After that absolutely pulsating Women’ Singles quarterfinal between PV Sindhu and Wang Yihan on Tuesday, the action now shift to the Men’s Singles quarterfinals on Wednesday, and another Indian will be involved here as well, facing off against an Chinese opponent in his last 8 clash.
Follow LIVE: Kidambi Srikanth vs Lin Dan Live Score, Rio Olympics 2016: Live Commentary and match updates
If one had to sum up Kidambi Srikanth’s performance in this tournament in a single word, it would be impressive. The 23-year-old shuttler has shown a lot of aggressive instincts in his play, using his smashes to very good effect, hence leading a lot more winners on either side of the court.
The Indian has also defended very well, as was evident in the match against Jan O Jorgensen on Monday, when he leaped almost parallel to the court to retrieve the shuttle and succedded in doing so.
On Wednesday,however, Srikanth will be facing one of the greatest if not the greatest player to have graced this game- China’s Lin Dan. The reigning two time Olympic champion, who is seeded third in the competition, breezed past his group stage before being awarded a bye in the Round of 16.
While he does pose a very hard challenge for Srikanth, the Lin Dan of today is certainly not as invincible as the one who competed say 2 years ago. While he won the All England title earlier this year, he bowed out in the initial stages of a few other competitions, which makes him an unpredictable opponent to face.
Ever since the news broke that Srikanth was to face him in the quarters, the talks have been directed to his 2014 China Open Superseries Final win when he defeated the great man in the final.
The head-to-head between the two reads 2-1 in Lin’s favour, but it was Srikanth who came out triumphant the last time they face one another in the former’s den. This could in all likelihood be the Chinese’s last Olympic Games and he will look to finish off on a high.
Matchup: Kidambi Srikanth vs Lin Dan
Time: 5:50 P.M IST
TV details: Star Sports 2/ HD2, 3/HD 3, hotstar.com and DD National.
