After 5 days of pulsating action, we are down to the final four of the 2016 Thomas and Uber Cup Finals to be played in the Kunshan Sports Complex in China. India, after a terrific performance against Thailand in the quarterfinals, will face off against China in what will be their toughest test so far in the competition.
The Indians have been superb so far, having just lost 3 matches but the test on Friday will be a level higher than every other competitor and each and every member of the Indian contingent will have their task cut out.
PV Sindhu has been terrific for India, having gone past all her opponents with comfort, making excellent use of her height to move back-and-forth and playing very deceptive badminton all around. She is likely to face Wang Yihan in her match.
Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa didn’t feature in the match against Japan as a pair, but have looked good in all the remaining matches that they have played with the latter showing some fine rear court skills and their coordination has been very good.They will likely face Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei in their match.
The surprise of the quarterfinal, Ruthvika Shivani Gadde could have a much tougher time in the semifinals where her opponent could be Wang Shixian and it will be intriguing to see if she can stand up and give her experienced opponent a run for her money.
That then leaves us with the big one. She has looked good in the competition so far, but boy does Saina Nehwal has a task at hand on Friday, when yet another duel with Li Xuerui awaits her and it goes without saying that this could well prove to be the deciding match of the contest, in terms of scoreline, confidence and much more.
We are just over 80 days from the start of Rio 2016 and in that sense this could be a real grinding test for India and will surely give them an idea as to where they stand.
Matchup- India vs China
Time:10:30 A,M IST
TV Details: Star Sports 2, HD2
Live stream: www,starsports.com
