Srikanth has been having a struggle this season after finishing last season on a high. His best so far has been a semi-final finish at the Malaysia Open. At the Asian Games, he suffered a shock defeat in the opening round. Srikanth will try his best to bounce back from that defeat and have a good run at this Super 750 tournament to get back some of his last confidence.
With Yuxiang in the first round, it might be easier said than done.
Srikanth needs to be careful in this match as the Chinese won their last encounter at the All England Open this year. Their last two matches went the distance, which itself shows that Yuxiang has always been a tough matchup for the India No. 1 shuttler.
Srikanth is the seventh seed at this Super 750 tournament and will face China's Huang Yuxiang for a place in the second round. The Chinese is ranked 31st while Srikanth is eighth. Srikanth has a 2-1 head-to-head record over the Chinese.