India will have four shuttlers in the quarterfinals on Friday, with three out of eight in the men’s singles but the highlight of the day could be the clash between PV Sindhu and Tai Tzu Ying.
Sindhu beat Tai Tzu at the same stage of the last World Championships in the match of the tournament but Tai had her revenge in the semifinals of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics earlier this year, and will be looking to break her quarterfinals jinx at the Worlds.
Sindhu knows that the task ahead of her is not easy – she trails in the H2H 5-14 – but she does have a plan.
“Tai is a tricky player and has very good skills so it’s not going to be easy,” said Sindhu. “At times you won’t be able to anticipate her shots but you have to make sure you’re always in the match, making sure you take all the shots, and you have to be patient. The key is to pick all her shuttles, to keep it in the court. If I get a lead I should maintain it and finish it off.”
The match between Sindhu vs world No 1 Tai Tzu will begin at 2.30 pm IST. That will be followed by Srikanth Kidambi vs Mark Caljouw. HS Prannoy vs red-hot Loh Kean Yew is the 8th match of the day. These are on Court 1.
On Court 2, Lakshya Sen will take on China’s Zhao Jun Peng in the third match.
Srikanth Kidambi has found a good rhythm and he was back at his imperious best in his win against China’s Lu Guang Zu. He dominated the match from start to finish and will hope to display the same form against Caljouw as well. They have never faced each other on the tour before.
The task for Prannoy is a bit tougher. He runs into Singapore’s Loh, the most in-form player in the tournament. The young Loh has simply blown away his opponents but Prannoy has caused some upsets of his own and the Indian does lead the H2H 2-0.
Sen has been playing a very consistent brand of badminton for a while and if he can continue in the same vein, he will fancy his chances against China’s Zhao. The Indian has a world ranking of 19 while his Chinese opponent is ranked 42. They have never played against each other before.
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