World Badminton Championships 2018: Day 5 schedule of Indian players, telecast, live streaming, date, time and where to watch online

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All eyes on Nozomi Okuhara (left) vs PV Sindhu

All the attention will be on the two Indian superstars -- Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu -- as they set their sights on a semi-final berth each at the World Badminton Championships 2018 at Nanjing, China on Friday. Both will be involved in blockbuster ties with very familiar foes.

Sindhu will lock horns with Nozomi Okuhara in a rematch of their dazzling 2017 World Championships final. A year back they orchestrated one of the greatest badminton matches ever played.

This is one of the most competitive rivalries, as validated by Okuhara's minor 6-5 lead over the Indian. It is interesting to note that only three out of their 11 meetings have finished in straight games, that further corroborates that they keep pushing each other a lot on the court.

Okuhara won their very last meeting at the Thailand Open final, which also happens to be the last tournament for both before coming to the World Championships. Sindhu had looked weary and short of ideas in that match, which is in sharp contrast to how refreshed she is looking now. Another titanic battle could be on the cards.

Equally enthralling is the rivalry between Saina Nehwal and Carolina Marin. The Spaniard trails Nehwal 5-6 in their head-to-head meetings, but has had the upper hand in the most crucial finals, that includes their face-off for the gold medal at this very tournament three years ago.

Having said that, it is to be noted that the southpaw is not the same invincible force anymore. She hasn't won a title on the BWF circuit since the Japan Open in September last year. Highly inconsistent at present, she lost her very next match to Nehwal right after her triumph in Tokyo.

Saina played a very smart and clean match against the dangerous Ratchanok Intanon in the third round on Thursday, which should have given her a huge boost of confidence. That might just spur her on for a win over the two-time world champion Marin as well.

Sai Praneeth will also be in action in his first ever quarter-final at the World Championships, but he has a tough hurdle in the form of the Asian champion, Kento Momota. The mixed doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa have been excellent giant-killers so far, but the test gets even sterner against the top seeds and World No. 2 pair of Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong.

Here's all the information you need to know

Tournament name: Total BWF World Championships 2018

Category: Grade 1 - Individual Tournaments

Location: Nanjing, China

Date: Friday, August 3, 2018

Round: Quarter-finals

Broadcast: Live telecast on Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 2 HD from 7.30am IST

Livestream: hotstar.com

Live updates: On Sportskeeda

Schedule of Indian players:

Men's singles

Sai Praneeth vs (6) Kento Momota at approx 5.30pm

Women's singles

(7) Carolina Marin vs (10) Saina Nehwal at approx 9.45am

(3) PV Sindhu vs (8) Nozomi Okuhara at approx 6pm

Mixed doubles

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa vs (1) Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong at approx 9.10am

(All timings in Indian Standard Time)

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Edited by Sudeshna Banerjee