World Badminton Championships 2018: PV Sindhu could meet Nozomi Okuhara in quarters, tough draw for Saina Nehwal

BADMINTON-MAS-OPEN
PV Sindhu

India's top two female shuttlers, PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal were handed a bye in the first round of the 24th BWF World Championships beginning on 30th July in Nanjing, China.

Sindhu and Saina had scripted history last year in Glasgow when they returned with the silver and bronze medals respectively. It was the first time when Indian shuttlers claimed two medals at the same World Championships.

Possible Sindhu-Okuhara clash in quarters

Following the first round bye, Sindhu will flag off her campaign against one of World No. 37 Fitriani Fitriani or World No. 44 Linda Zetchiri. The first real challenge for the third-seeded Sindhu will be in the third round where she is expected to meet Sung Ji Hyun. The Indian has a 7-5 head-to-head record against the World No. 9 who beat her the last time they met at the Badminton Asia Championships in May.

If she manages to get past the South Korean star, defending champion Nozomi Okuhara lurks in the quarters in what will be a rematch of last year's epic final. Okuhara and Sindhu have shared a healthy rivalry over the years, with the Japanese shuttler trailing 5-6 in the head-to-head stats. However, Okuhara did beat Sindhu in straight sets in Sunday's Thailand Open final.

Fifth seed Chen Yufei or Akane Yamaguchi could be Sindhu’s semi-final opponent if the latter does indeed overcome the Okuhara hurdle.

Ratchanok Intanon test awaits Saina

World No. 10 Saina Nehwal has shown definite signs of being back to her old form over the last few months. However, it will be imperative for her to be at her very best right from the start as she has the former World Champion and fourth seed Ratchanok Intanon looming in the pre-quarters.

Starting off with a bye, Saina will meet one of Sabrina Jaquet or Aliye Demirbag in the second round before she faces the Intanon test. The 28-year-old does have a 9-5 head-to-head record over the Thai star, who has not been at the top of her game, and even won their last fixture at the Indonesia Masters in January but still, it will be an interesting clash.

A win against Intanon in the third round could pit Saina against Olympic champion Carolina Marin. In the semis, World No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying is another big threat for the Indian, if they manage to reach that far.

Srikanth could face Lee Chong Wei in last 8

BADMINTON-MAS-OPEN
Kidambi Srikanth

Over to the men's draw, World No. 5 Kidambi Srikanth could meet Commonwealth Games gold medallist Lee Chong Wei in the quarters. HS Prannoy should sail to the pre-quarters while Sai Praneeth has been handed a pretty difficult draw.

Srikanth, who starts off against Irish youngster Nhat Nguyen, should not have any trouble in reaching the pre-quarters. His first real challenge should be the 13th-seeded Jonatan Christie in this round, provided they both make it thus far. If the 25-year-old Indian can progress to the quarters, a stiffer challenge in the form of World No. 2 Lee Chong could await him.

Srikanth has managed to beat the Malaysian star just once in his career, during the mixed team final at the Commonwealth Games. Should he manage to repeat that feat, he could be pitted against World No. 4 Son Wan Ho in the semis.

Son Wan Ho, though, will have another Indian, Sai Praneeth, to worry about in the opening round. Given that he has never been able to beat the Korean star in four attempts, it will be extremely difficult for Praneeth to make it to the second round.

Prannoy starts off his campaign against Indo-New Zealand shuttler Abhinav Manota. He could meet Wong Wing Ki Vincent in the second round, before meeting World No. 7 Chou Tien Chen in the pre-quarters. If the 11th seeded Indian manages to progress to the quarters, he could meet Chinese legend Lin Dan.

Sameer Verma faces Lucas Corvee, against whom he has a 1-1 head-to-head record, in the opening round. Should he progress to the second round, the 23-year-old should come up against Lin Dan.

Doubles doesn't look too promising

India will be represented by four pairs in each of the doubles disciplines.

In men's doubles first round, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy will face English duo of Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge in a repeat of the Commonwealth Games final while eighth seeds Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen await in the second round.

Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy, on the other hand, will take on Daniel Nikolov and Ivan Rusev of Bulgaria. If they manage to progress in the second round, Japanese seventh seeds Takuto Inoue and Yuki Kaneko.

Elsewhere, in women's doubles, Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy face Chiang Kai Hsin and Hung Shih Han in the first round. Second seeds Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota of Japan await the winners in the second round.

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Edited by Soumo Ghosh