Competition: Total BWF Sudirman Cup 2017
Venue: Gold Coast, Australia
Category: BWF Event
Date: Monday, May 22, 2017
Round: Group Stage
Time: 7.30am IST
Channel: Star Sports 2 and Star Sports HD2
Live streaming: Star Sports Hotstar
Preview:
(2) Denmark vs (9/12) India
India begin their campaign at the 2017 Sudirman Cup with a tough opener against the second seeds Denmark in Group D. The Danes have been two-time runners-up and will be eagerly looking forward to win their maiden crown at this prestigious mixed team championships.
India, who are seeded 9/12th, in contrast, have never made it to the semi-finals. Their best performance so far has been reaching the knockout stage in 2011 even though they could not emulate their own feat in the next two editions.
Suffice to say, India’s task is cut out. They need an inspired show to have any chance against the Danish team who will be bolstered by the presence of World No. 3 Viktor Axelsen and World No. 4 Jan O Jorgensen in men’s singles.
The onus lies on Ajay Jayaram and Srikanth Kidambi to get past Axelsen and Jorgensen and that won’t be easy. That said, Jayaram did get the better of Axelsen at the Malaysia Open in April and he needs to bring that same courage and conviction if he wants to upset his illustrious opponent again.
Srikanth will need to bring forth the confidence he displayed at the Singapore Open where he finished as the runner-up to his compatriot B Sai Praneeth.
The category in which India has a strong chance of a win is women’s singles. World No. 4 PV Sindhu, who has won two titles this season, will be spearheading the challenge in the absence of Saina Nehwal and she should be expected to win.
Denmark also has a strong line-up in doubles with three teams in top 10 in men’s doubles and one each in women’s and mixed. India’s best ranked doubles team is in mixed and the duo of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy are placed only at 16th.
Even though Chopra and Reddy did start off the 2017 season with a Grand Prix Gold title at home at the Syed Modi International, it would need quite an effort from them to pull off an upset.
Also Read: Sudirman Cup: Gauging the present of Indian Badminton
