BWF World C’ships, Day 3 blog: Prannoy beats Momota to set up Lakshya clash, Dhruv-Arjun stun Danes

Key updates of Day 3:

• Men’s singles: HS Prannoy beats Kento Momota for the first time in eight meetings to set up a round of 16 clash with compatriot Lakshya Sen.
• Men’s doubles: MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila stun eighth seeds Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen to reach the round of 16. First win for the Indians against a top 10 pair.
  
• Men’s doubles: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty begin their campaign with a comfortable win to reach the round of 16.
• Men’s singles: Lakshya Sen reaches the round of 16 with a straight-games win against Spain’s Luis Penalver.
  
• Men’s singles: Srikanth Kidambi, the 2021 silver medallist, loses in straight games to China’s unseeded Zhao Jun Peng in the round of 32.
• Women’s doubles: Ashwini Ponnappa/Sikki Reddy, Pooja Dandu/Sanjana Santosh, Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand and Shikha Gautam/Ashwini Bhat bow out.

HS Prannoy with an empathetic take on Kento Momota’s struggles (via BWF):

“Probably he’s tentative, especially after the (accident) break. I’ve had tons of injuries and coming back after injury you’re always tentative. And if you start losing in the first round, things become even more tough. So there needs to be a constant graph, which is going up where you’re playing quarters, semis, and then things get back to normal. Otherwise, there’s always doubt, and badminton is a confidence game. Once you’re confident things start to fall in place and you don’t have to think twice about doing something.”

After the victory against Momota, this is what Prannoy had to say in the BWF Mixed Zone:

On whether the win was an expected one:

“The record has been not so great with him, *7-0 in the past. It is always tough to play against someone who has played the highest level of badminton so I knew I had to be very disciplined against him and I think it was really important to pace the game really well and to know which points to push and which points are okay to lose. I think in that way, strategy-wise, I was pretty much correct today. And he’s not at his best but a win is a win for me. Playing one more round at a tournament is one thing I would always like to do and I think playing one more round here would be great.”

On whether he is playing with a lot of control these days:

“I have been working a lot on the mental side and been trying to be as calm as possible and in a lot of matches, I feel I am in much better control, not following the way the opponents are playing, so in that way (progress) is up but I think there’s a lot of room for improvement in those lines.

On playing in front of home fans against Momota:

“After playing in Indonesia and Malaysia, the crowd support feels a little bit alright. I think the crowd support is good but today, there was a full-packed crowd for him but yeah it’s not really big or loud that you’re disturbed by it. 

“But I am really glad that the people could come over for the World Championships, especially after what happened in the last year and then the Olympics. I think now for them to come and watch the players live is great.”

— *Corrected

6.45 pm: Looking at court schedule... and HS Prannoy vs Lakshya Sen is on Court 3. Disappointment for plenty of Indian fans.

HS Prannoy: Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high

In September last year, Prannoy posted a motivational tweet: “Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.” A month earlier on August 14, when tournament time was hard to come by, he reacted to yet another event getting postponed, by wondering, sarcastically of course, if he would be better off becoming a tennis player. A couple of weeks before that, while speaking to Scroll.in about PV Sindhu’s historic bronze medal at Tokyo Olympics, he said it reminded him to keep going despite a dull phase... clearly, those were not easy times.

But HS Prannoy kept at it. First, he got better physically, and that included doing everything he could in his power to find solutions to a rib issue that was bothering him. All the while, he also focussed on getting strong mentally, reminding himself he is not done yet.

Men’s singles R32, HS Prannoy 21-17, 21-16 Kento Momota: Prannoy wins! He gets his first win against Momota in their eighth meeting. He was solid from start to finish and didn’t allow the home favourite to get on a roll.

Men’s singles R32, HS Prannoy 21-17, 16-13 Kento Momota: Consecutive points for Momota and it’s a three-point game now. Prannoy is not far away from victory but the second seed is not going to make things easy for him.

Men’s singles R32, HS Prannoy 21-17, 11-6 Kento Momota: Prannoy take a huge lead to the interval and is marching towards the finish line. Momota looks a bit down and will need a special effort to turn things around from here.

Men’s singles R32, HS Prannoy 21-17, 4-4 Kento Momota: This time Prannoy nails an inside-out cross-court smash and we’re level in the second game. The Indian is always full of confidence while going for smashes and he’s been finding great success with them too.

Vinayakk: In the eighth match between the two, HS Prannoy wins a game against Kento Momota for the second time... and well deserved. Post mid-game interval, some wonderful rallies.

Men’s singles R32, HS Prannoy 21-17 Kento Momota: First game in the bag for Prannoy. He hits another winner and lets out a loud “c’mon” as the Japanese fans in the stadium go quiet. The Indian has definitely been the better player and even remained calm when put under pressure.

Men’s singles R32, HS Prannoy 17-14 Kento Momota: Brilliant play from Prannoy! He finishes a brutal rally with a cross-court smash. Momota is left face first on the floor and he stays there for several seconds. The Indian isn’t relenting.

Men’s singles R32, HS Prannoy 15-12 Kento Momota: Two jump smashes down the line and two points for Prannoy. He lets out a roar. This is a tense battle now.

Men’s singles R32, HS Prannoy 13-12 Kento Momota: Momota is starting to find his groove here. Consecutive points for him and it’s just a one-point game now. Prannoy needs to regain the sense of calmness he had at the start.

Men’s singles R32, HS Prannoy 11-7 Kento Momota: A cross-court jump smash from Prannoy and he takes a solid lead to the interval. Momota is playing well too but the Indian seems to have more options at the moment.

Men’s singles R32, HS Prannoy 9-5 Kento Momota: A beautiful cross-court slice drop from Prannoy to take a four-point lead. There is a sense of surety in his movement and the home favourite is under pressure here.

Men’s singles R32, HS Prannoy 6-4 Kento Momota: Nice and aggressive from Prannoy in the early exchanges and he has a two-point lead. Both players are starting to move with more intensity as the opening game is progressing.

Vinayakk: Time for the most anticipated match of the day. On one side, we have King Kento – as he is fondly known – looking for a redemption story in Tokyo. The former champion has struggled ever since his accident but has shown some good glimpses recently. On the other side, one of the form players on tour this year. HS Prannoy has, even aside Thomas Cup, been in good touch for a while now. But he has a 0-7 H2H to overcome against Kento. As he said, he needs to find a good zone... and find it quickly. But deep down, he will know this is as good a chance as he has had to get off the mark against Momota.

Men’s singles: Time now for the final Indian match for the day and it’s the big one. India’s HS Prannoy is up against home hero and second seed Kento Momota in the round of 32. This promises to be a cracking contest.

Women’s doubles R32, Shikha-Ashwini 5-21, 21-18, 13-21 Kim-Kong: It wasn’t to be for the Indian pair as the Korean fourth seeds close out the win. Ashwini-Shikha fought valiantly after being blown away in the first game but Kim-Kong regrouped nicely in the decider.

Women’s doubles R32, Shikha-Ashwini 5-21, 21-18, 5-11 Kim-Kong: The Indians had a 4-3 lead in the decider but the Koreans have stormed back to take the pole position. Shikha-Ashwini will need to win a string of points soon.

“Yeh game ho gaya, don’t get carried away,” SR Arun Vishnu tells his wards.

Women’s doubles R32, Shikha-Ashwini 5-21, 21-18 Kim-Kong: We are going to a decider! Brilliant fightback by the Indian pair, who’re making their Worlds debut, in the second game. They seemed down and out at the end of the opener but were full of confidence in the second. The Korean fourth seeds have lost all the momentum they had.

Women’s doubles R32, Shikha-Ashwini 5-21, 17-16 Kim-Kong: Well, well... the Indians have the lead at a crucial stage in the second game. They’re playing with great intensity and the Koreans are under pressure.

Men’s doubles R32, Satwik-Chirag 21-8, 21-10 Solis-Anibal: No trouble for the seventh seeds as the begin their campaign with a comfortable win. Just the sort of start Satwik-Chirag would’ve hoped for. The CWG champions will now face Lasse Molhede and Jeppe Bay of Denmark, who just upset the 13th seeds from Malaysia.

Women’s doubles R32, Shikha-Ashwini 5-21, 8-11 Kim-Kong: Much better from the Indians in the second game but the Koreans are still ahead at the interval. Can Shikha-Ashwini force a decider?

Men’s doubles R32, Satwik-Chirag 21-8, 14-5 Solis-Anibal: Interesting. Satwik-Chirag in complete control of this match of course but a very animated Mathias Boe between games and after points too. I’d assume it’s about wanting his wards to execute some plans they had. This was early on in the second game.

Men’s doubles R32, Satwik-Chirag 21-8, 11-5 Solis-Anibal: The Indians are motoring along. Solis-Anibal won the first two points in the second game but Satwik-Chirag regained control quickly.

Men’s doubles R32, Satwik-Chirag 21-8 Solis-Anibal: As Shikha and Ashwini struggle in the women’s doubles, Satwik and Chirag are cruising in their men’s doubles match. The Indians take just 11 minutes to win the first game.

Women’s doubles R32, Shikha-Ashwini 5-21 Kim-Kong: Well, the Korean pair took just 12 minutes to win that first game. The Indians hardly troubled them and it’ll be a great surprise if this goes to a decider.

Men’s doubles R32, Satwik-Chirag 11-3 Solis-Anibal: The CWG champions in complete control here at the start against the world No 90 from Guatemala.

Women’s doubles R32, Shikha-Ashwini 2-11 Kim-Kong: The Korean fourth seeds won seven points in a row and have a huge lead now at the interval. Not looking good for the Indian pair.

Time now for two Indian matches. In women’s doubles, Ashwini Bhat and Shikha Gautam face Korean fourth seeds Kong Hee-yong and Kim So-yeong on Court 2. And in men’s doubles, seventh seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty face the Guatemalan pair of Jonathan Solis and Aníbal Marroquin on Court 3.

Still to come: Ashwini/Shikha will take on Korean third seeds Kim/Kong and Satwik/Chirag will begin their campaign (no official telecast or streaming for that match). Finally, the big one... HS Prannoy vs Kento Momota two matches after the current one on Court 1.

Interesting tactical insight from Dhruv Kapila to BWF:

“(Coach) Mathias told us it’s going to be a 50-50 situation throughout the match where there’s not going to be a quality stroke; everything is going to come into the racket. So if you’re not ready in the racket, you’re going to lose points. But then if you are ready, even if you play a bad quality stroke, it’s not going to be very aggressive from the other side. So our focus was to just to get the shuttle across (the net). So even if you don’t play a quality dip or something like that, they’re going to be defensive, because they are one of the best defensive pairs in the circuit. They always try to defend.

Men’s singles R32, Srikanth Kidambi 9-21, 17-21 Zhao Junpeng: That’s it, a straight-games defeat for 2021 silver medallist Srikanth Kidambi against the unseeded player from China in 34 minutes. He led 16-14 in the second game and it seemed we will have a decider but the match ended in a hurry from there.

Men’s singles R32, Srikanth Kidambi 9-21, 16-18 Zhao Junpeng: Four straight points now for Zhao. Srikanth is hanging on by a thread.

Men’s singles R32, Srikanth Kidambi 9-21, 16-14 Zhao Junpeng: A couple of superb moves at the net from Srikanth and he takes a two-point lead at a crucial stage in the game. He’s playing with purpose now and seems to have found his range. But he needs to remain careful, Zhao will be determined to close this out in straight games.

Men’s singles R32, Srikanth Kidambi 9-21, 11-9 Zhao Junpeng: Three straight points for Srikanth and he takes a two-point lead to the second game interval. He’s looking far better now than he was in the opener – being more patient while also being more aggressive.

Men’s singles R32, Srikanth Kidambi 9-21, 5-7 Zhao Junpeng: Much closer contest in the second game as Srikanth raises his intensity, but he makes consecutive errors and Zhao has the lead again.

Men’s singles R32, Srikanth Kidambi 9-21 Zhao Junpeng: It has only taken 12 minutes for Zhao to win the first game. Tough to say if Srikanth is struggling physically but this is disappointing. The 12th seed has made one error after another and lacked energy.

Men’s singles R32, Srikanth Kidambi 7-11 Zhao Junpeng: The unseeded left-hander from China takes a healthy lead to the first game interval. Srikanth is yet to find any sort of rhythm.

Men’s singles: Time now for 12th seed and former world No 1 Srikanth Kidambi to take on China’s Zhao Junpeng in the round of 32. Their head-to-head is locked at 1-1.

Men’s singles R32, Lakshya Sen 21-17, 21-10 Luis Penalver: The India No 1 is through to the round of 16 with a straight-games win. Lakshya was tested in the first game but was dominant in the second. Tougher tests await, but the CWG champion has looked in good touch once again. He awaits winner of HS Prannoy vs Kento Momota later today.

Women’s doubles R32, Treesa-Gayatri 8-21, 17-21 Pearly-Thinaah: Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand were better in the second game and even saved three match points but Malaysia’s CWG 2022 gold medallists win in 35 minutes to reach the round of 16.

Men’s singles R32, Lakshya Sen 21-17, 11-6 Luis Penalver: Again a close start to the game but a gruelling, gruelling rally goes the way of Lakshya and from there he has opened up a handy lead once again, up by five points at the interval.

Women’s doubles R32, Treesa-Gayatri 8-21, 11-16 Pearly-Thinaah: The Malaysians are defending brilliantly and marching towards the finish line.

Women’s doubles R32, Treesa-Gayatri 8-21, 7-11 Pearly-Thinaah: The Indians are trying to mix things up – being patient and also bit more aggressive – but the Malaysian pair has answers for almost everything. Treesa-Gayatri will need to make a move now, though.

Men’s singles R32, Lakshya Sen 21-17 Luis Penalver: Game 1, Lakshya. A brilliant smash, inside out and the Indian seals the deal to take the lead. Got a bit close there in the end but in control for the most part.

Men’s singles R32, Lakshya Sen 19-17 Luis Penalver: Again a 2-point game. A patient rally by both players but ends with a Lakshya error.

Men’s singles R32, Lakshya Sen 18-14 Luis Penalver: The Spaniard is closing this gap down. Down to two points. But the Indian comes up with two high pace rallies to push ahead again to 18-14.

Women’s doubles R32, Treesa-Gayatri 8-21, 4-5 Pearly-Thinaah: It’s a close battle in the early stage of the second game. The Indian pair is being more patient in the rallies.

Vinayakk: Mathias Boe is asking Gayatri-Treesa to reset and go again. “Stay relaxed, be light on the feet, always move and lift high, high,” he adds.

Men’s singles R32, Lakshya Sen 14-7 Luis Penalver: It was a little tight in the opening exchanges, but Lakshya has zoomed ahead in this one. Looking in control.

Women’s doubles R32, Treesa-Gayatri 8-21 Pearly-Thinaah: It’s taken just 14 minutes for the Malaysian CWG 2022 gold medallists to win the first game. The Indian youngsters haven’t been allowed to settle in and will need a special performance to turn this around.

Men’s singles R32, Lakshya Sen 11-6 Luis Enrique Penalver: The India No 1 wins seven straight points after trailing 4-6 to take a healthy lead to the interval.

Vinayakk: “Rest here, it’s 0-0 now,” tells coach Mathias Boe to the Indian teenage duo. Even for their best points, Tan-Thinaah have solutions at the moment.

Women’s doubles R32, Treesa-Gayatri 4-11 Pearly-Thinaah: The Malaysians are pulling away in the opener. They dictating play and the young Indian pair is searching for solutions.

Women’s doubles R32, Treesa-Gayatri 2-4 Pearly-Thinaah: A lovely flick from Thinaah and the Malaysians get a two-point lead early on. The Indians looking a bit tentative.

Vinayakk: For the third time in August 2022... Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand take on Pearly Tan-Thinaah Muralitharan. The Indian youngsters were very impressive yesterday. They can make a match out of this. The coaching staff behind the Indians is eager for this one, we could see a closer contest today for starters. Should be interesting.

Men’s singles: It is also time for Lakshya Sen’s round of 32 match against Spain’s Luís Enrique Penalver.

Women’s doubles: Time now for India’s Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand to take on Malaysian 10th seeds Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan in the round of 32.

Quotes via BWF:

MR ARJUN: First pre-quarter apperance at a World Championship... To beat a top 10 pair, we’re elated.

(What were you happy with in the match?)
DHRUV KAPILA: We were already prepared for it. Our coach had already prepared us, like how we have to make it. And it was working for us throughout the match.

(What kind of confidence does this give you?)
DHRUV KAPILA: I think we are ready. We are ready for the next round also.
MR ARJUN: To be honest we were training, we had almost three blocks to train hard. We were there and we have trained pretty well for this year.

One more match before Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand play on Court 1, two more matches before Lakshya Sen plays on Court 3.

Men’s doubles: A day of upsets in this mini section. Instead of 8th seeds vs 9th seeds in the round of 16, it will be Dhruv-Arjun vs Loh-Hee of Singapore who stunned the Malaysians a while earlier. Potential quarterfinal vs former champions Daddies after that for the winner of that surprise R16 match.

Vinayakk: MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila defeat the 2021 bronze medallists 8th seeds Kim/Anders to reach the round of 16. Straight games. First win over a top 10 pair after coming close a few times. They always had in this them. Taken the Daddies close a few times. Pushed Alfian/Ardianto all the way. Even Ong/Teo once. Singapore Open saw them get past the line vs Goh/Izzuddin and now Kim/Anders. Huge for their confidence.

Men’s doubles round of 32, Arjun-Dhruv 21-17, 21-16 Kim-Anders: They have done it! Arjun MR and Dhruv Kapila have beaten eighth seeds Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in the first meeting between the two pairs. The Indians were consistently throughout and raised their level each time they needed to.

Men’s doubles round of 32, Arjun-Dhruv 21-17, 18-15 Kim-Anders: The Indians have pulled ahead and have a healthy lead now. They’re almost there... can they close it out?

Men’s doubles round of 32, Arjun-Dhruv 21-17, 14-14 Kim-Anders: The score is level as we head towards the business end of the second game. Arjun-Dhruv aren’t relenting against their seeded opponents.

Men’s doubles round of 32, Arjun-Dhruv 21-17, 10-11 Kim-Anders: Arjun defends valiantly but the Danes manage to put away a smash and take a slender lead to the interval. The Indians haven’t trailed for too long in the match and they will definitely be tested here.

Men’s doubles round of 32, Arjun-Dhruv 21-17, 9-9 Kim-Anders: A service error each from both pairs and we’re level in the second game.

Men’s doubles round of 32, Arjun-Dhruv 21-17, 7-5 Kim-Anders: The Indians have a lead in the second game too. It’s still a close contest but Arjun-Dhruv continue to have a slight edge.

Vinayakk: Thought the game might just slip away when Arjun gave the serve back on an error and Kim was pulling off a series off points. But the Indians held on in the end. Was so important to get the first game. Hope.

Men’s doubles round of 32, Arjun-Dhruv 21-17 Kim-Anders: First game in the bag for Arjun-Dhruv! They were in the lead for the most part and didn’t falter in the business end. The Indians have been efficient in terms of tactics and execution and will be determined to start the second game strongly too.

Men’s doubles round of 32, Arjun-Dhruv 20-16 Kim-Anders: Nice, aggressive play from the Indians and they win three straight points. Can they close this out?

Men’s doubles round of 32, Arjun-Dhruv 17-15 Kim-Anders: The Danes win four straight points before making a service error. Just two points in it now and the first game could go either way.

Men’s doubles round of 32, Arjun-Dhruv 16-11 Kim-Anders: The Indians have a five-point lead now, which is the biggest lead in the match so far. The Danish pair is being rushed and put under pressure consistently.

Shlok Ramchandran, former India player (and Arjun’s partner for long) via Twitter: Arjun’s service is key to this match 6 of the 11 points won so far on his serve which allows Dhruv to use his reach from the back court and maintain pressure. This Kim and anders first match in this worlds need to get the 1st one.

Men’s doubles round of 32, Arjun-Dhruv 11-8 Kim-Anders: Impressive performance by the Indians so far. Kim-Anders won a string of points to draw level at 6-6 but Dhruv-Arjun now have a healthy lead at the interval.

Vinayakk: Dhruv-Arjun face a stern test against Astrup-Rasmussen... Mathias Boe, on the chair, knows a thing or two about the Danes. Dhruv-Arjun, if at their best, can pose a challenge to the 8th seeds for sure. Even start to the match.

Men’s doubles round of 32, Arjun-Dhruv 6-2 Kim-Anders: The Indians are off to a good start. They haven’t wasted any time in finding their rhythm.

Men’s doubles: This is the first meeting between these pairs from India and Denmark.

Men’s doubles: Finally, it is time for India’s Dhruv Kapila and Arjun MR to take the court for their round of 32 match against eighth seeds Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen from Denmark.

Men’s doubles: We’re going to have to wait a bit longer for Arjun-Dhruv to take the court as the women’s singles match on Court 2 has gone to a decider.

Men’s doubles: The Daddies, seeded third, qualify for the round of 16 with a straight-games win.

Men’s doubles: There’s one more match now on Court 2 before Arjun MR and Dhruv Kapila come on for their round of 32 match.

Men’s singles: Loh Kean Yew is through to the round of 16. Kevin Cordon threatened to stage a late comeback but the defending champion closes it out 21-12 in the third.

Men’s singles: Loh Kean Yew is on the charge now... Huelva mode now. Into a 11-1 lead.

Men’s singles: Loh Kean Yew taken to the decider by Kevin Cordon. Well, well.

Men’s singles: Loh Kean Yew vs Kevin Cordon is getting interesting. The Guatemalan takes a big lead in the 2nd game.

Men’s doubles: A rematch of the 2019 World Junior C’ships final, not long away on Court 1.

Men’s doubles: Loud cheers at the venue evidently to welcome the widely popular Minions. Gideon/Sukamuljo are in action on court 4 now, making a comeback after an injury layoff for Gideon.

Men’s singles: Loh Kean Yew vs Kevin Cordon on Court 2 now. Authors of two of the craziest stories in badminton last year. The man who won the World Championships out of nowhere vs the man who reached the Olympic semifinals out of nowhere.

Men’s doubles: What a result that is for the Singaporeans. Ninth seeds One/Teo out.

There’s going to be a little bit of break now from an Indian point of view. Dhruv/Arjun were “estimated” to be in action around this time on Court 2, but the first match went up to 71 minutes and the second is 37 mins and counting... two matches left after this.

Women’s doubles, round of 32, Ashwini-Sikki 15-21, 10-21 Chen-Jia [1]: Well that was over in a hurry. If it was 4 straight points in the opening game, it is now 10 of the 11 points in the 2nd to close the mach out.

Women’s doubles, round of 32, Ashwini-Sikki 15-21, 9-19 Chen-Jia [1]: SEVEN straight points now.

Women’s doubles, round of 32, Ashwini-Sikki 15-21, 9-16 Chen-Jia [1]: The top seeds know they are being tested, the roars are loud hence from the usually animated Chen. Looks like the momentum has slipped away again. Jia with a wonderful low serve.

Women’s doubles, round of 32, Ashwini-Sikki 15-21, 9-11 Chen-Jia [1]: Lovely direction change from Ashwini.. good couple of points outside the interval from Indians.

Women’s doubles, round of 32, Ashwini-Sikki 15-21, 7-11 Chen-Jia [1]: Lost challenge, lost momentum... handy lead for the top seeds at the interval.

Women’s doubles, round of 32, Ashwini-Sikki 15-21, 7-10 Chen-Jia [1]: Longer rallies, Indians stand a chance. The shorter ones, those set 1-2-3 plays, are going China’s way inevitably.

Women’s doubles, round of 32, Ashwini-Sikki 15-21, 6-6 Chen-Jia [1]: The rallies remain competitive. Another good response from the Indians.

Women’s doubles, round of 32, Ashwini-Sikki 15-21, 3-5 Chen-Jia [1]: The opening game was over in a flash from 17-15, that is what the best pairs in doubles do, they know how to close tight games out. Ashwini-Sikki needed that opening game to stand any chance of an upset. All the momentum with the champions now.

Women’s doubles, round of 32, Ashwini-Sikki 15-21 Chen-Jia [1]: The shorter, sharper rallies have gone the top seeds’ way invariably. A run of points for the top seeds in the end, with Ashwini making an error on the back hand. Four straight points in the end.

Women’s doubles, round of 32, Ashwini-Sikki 15-17 Chen-Jia [1]: Oh now Sikki with a brilliant rally, great rotation around the court and finishes the point with a smash. Frustration for the top seeds. A 32-shot rally there.

Women’s doubles, round of 32, Ashwini-Sikki 14-15 Chen-Jia [1]: a lift from Sikki lands on the line. It’s a 1-point game now.

Women’s doubles, round of 32, Ashwini-Sikki 12-14 Chen-Jia [1]: Every time the Chinese shuttlers get the height to attack, they are proving hard to stop. The Indians doing well in flatter exchanges. Some really good rallies at the moment... lovely couple of points for the Indians, with Ashwini doing some serious heavylifting. Mathias Boe is happy. A 34-shot rally there

Women’s doubles, round of 32, Ashwini-Sikki 9-11 Chen-Jia [1]: A slender lead for the top seeds at the mid-game interval. But the Indians doing well so far.

Women’s doubles, round of 32, Ashwini-Sikki 9-10 Chen-Jia [1]: As expected, Chen is now an angry shuttler bouncing around on the court. But the Indians, to their credit, are staying in touch constantly. Sikki with a super point at the net.

Women’s doubles, round of 32, Ashwini-Sikki 6-5 Chen-Jia [1]: Ashwini with a brilliant rally, Sikki with a solid kill at the net... good little response by the Indians. Oh a bit of controversy now... Sikki’s serve is called in, but the Chinese were so convinced it was out they didn’t even bother challenging it. Very angry Chen there, the umpire might have woken up a beast.

Women’s doubles, round of 32, Ashwini-Sikki 2-5 Chen-Jia [1]: A strong start by the Chinese here, unsurprisingly.

Women’s doubles, round of 32, Ashwini-Sikki 2-3 Chen-Jia [1]: A rarely seen outright ace on a badminton court. Superb from *Jia.

With Ashwini on court, a good time to look back at the 2011 bronze medal (along with other Indian medals in this event). That bronze with Jwala ended a long wait and started a new streak.

Read: India at badminton World C’ships: A brief history of the medallists

Women’s doubles, round of 32, Ashwini-Sikki vs Chen-Jia [1]: Ashwini-Sikki, ranked 24 in the world right now, have never been beaten the reigning world champions in the past. Chen-Jia hold a 3-0 H2H and have won all three matches in straight games.

Women’s doubles, round of 32, Ashwini-Sikki vs Chen-Jia [1]: Another massive test in women’s doubles coming up... this one on Court 1 now as Michelle Li completes her win.

Women’s singles: Intanon steadies herself to close this one in straight games after a strong comeback by Chaiwan.

Women’s doubles, round of 32, Pooja-Sanjana 15-21, 7-21 Lee-Shin [3]: The Korean stars close this out in straight games. Good fight in the opening game by Indians, a former top 50 pairing, but couldn’t push Lee-Shin much in the end.

Women’s doubles, round of 32, Pooja-Sanjana 15-21, 7-18 Lee-Shin [3]: The Indians continue to try and rally as much as they can but the Koreans, as ever, are too solid.

Women’s singles: Oh Chaiwan fights back! 14-16 in the 2nd game now against Intanon.

Women’s singles: On paper, a fascinating clash of generations (so to speak) but Intanon is bossing it against Chaiwan. The former world champion well on her way to win this.

Women’s doubles, round of 32, Pooja-Sanjana 15-21, 2-11 Lee-Shin [3]: The momentum shift in the opening game has been real. Koreans in complete control now.

Women’s doubles, round of 32, Pooja-Sanjana 15-21 Lee-Shin [3]: The Koreans turn on the afterburners in time to take 9 out of the last 10 points in the opening game.

Women’s doubles, round of 32, Pooja-Sanjana 14-17 Lee-Shin [3]: Two-point lead for the Indians... but a powerful response by the Korean duo. First Shin with a powerful smash and then Shin showing her prowess at the front court. 5 straight points now.

Women’s doubles, round of 32, Pooja-Sanjana 12-12 Lee-Shin [3]: That is a fiery start to proceedings post interval by the Indians... into the lead at 12-11 and then a service error.

Women’s doubles, round of 32, Pooja-Sanjana 11-8 Lee-Shin [3]: The Indians have done well to stay in touch in this one, but the Uber Cup heroes take a 11-8 lead into the interval.

Women’s doubles, round of 32, Pooja-Sanjana 8-6 Lee-Shin [3]: Fine start by the Koreans, going up by 6-1 but the Indians have done well to close the gap down to two points. Good defence on show.

Women’s doubles, round of 32, India vs Korea: First Indian action of the day is in women’s doubles and world No 3 Lee So Hee & Shin Seung Chan will start as huge favourites against world No 97 Pooja Dandu and Sanjana Santosh.

Hello everyone and welcome to our live coverage of the BWF World Championships.

It is a huge Wednesday in store for the Indian shuttlers, one that could have a significant impact on whether India can keep their medal streak going at the event. All eyes will be on the Thomas Cup heroes.

Key updates of day 2:

• Saina Nehwal recovers from a slow start to earn a straight-games win against Cheung Ngan Yi. The former finalist now gets a bye in the second round as Nozomi Okuhara has pulled out.
• Gayatri Gopichand-Treesa Jolly dominate the opening round fixture against Low Yeen Yuan and Valeree Siow of Malaysia, to face CWG champions Pearly Tan-Thinaah Muralitharan next.
• Ashwini Bhat and Shikha Gautam defeat the Italian pair of Judith Mair Martina Corsini and will face fourth seeds Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong from Korea next.
• Tanisha Crasto and Ishaan Bhatnagar lose in the mixed doubles round of 32.
• Juhi Dewangan and Venkat Gaurav Prasad lose in the mixed doubles round of 64.
• Krishna Prasad Garaga and Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala lose in the men’s doubles round of 64.

Screenshots in the blog courtesy BWF / Viacom 18 / Tournament Software

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