Two-time silver medallist PV Sindhu produced a commanding performance in her opening match at the BWF World Championships in Basel on Wednesday.
Sindhu, who had reached the finals of Indonesia Open last month, looked in good touch as she controlled the rallies and outsmarted Chinese Taipei’s Pai Yu Po 21-14, 21-14 in a 43-minute contest.
The fifth seeded Indian, who received a bye in the opening round, will face USA’s Beiwen Zhang, seeded ninth, in the pre-quarterfinals. Sindhu, an Olympic silver medallist, had lost to Zhang at the India Open finals last year.
Eighth seed Saina Nehwal also made a positive start to her campaign, defeating Netherlands’ Soraya De Visch Eijbergen 21-10 21-11 to set up a clash with Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt.
With the Indian doubles pairs out of contention at Basel 2019, the attention is all on the Indian singles players left in the fray. Five Indians will be looking to get their places booked in the quarter-finals.
Here’s a look at the schedule of the Indian shuttlers in action on Thursday:
HS Prannoy (TV Court)
Having knocked out the greatest men’s singles player to grace the World Championships, Lin Dan, Prannoy said he was was looking forward to facing top seed and defending champion Kento Momota in the next round. Momota later overcame Luis Enrique Penalver of Spain in the second round with consummate ease (21-7, 21-7 in 33 minutes).
“Yes, I am looking forward to Momota because there are some things which I need to prove and this is the event which I need to [do that]. And [want to] believe that I am big tournament player and probably the day after might be a good day,” he said when asked about his tough draw and possibility of facing Momota in the next round.
The unseeded Prannoy, ranked 30 in the world at the moment, hasn’t beaten Momota in their previous four encounters and would need to bring his A game while facing the Japanese world No 1 who has been on an absolute roll since his return to the game a couple of seasons ago.
Opponent’s rank: 1
Estimated time: Not to start before 3.30 pm IST
Head-to-head: Kento Momota leads 4-0
Previous meetings:
B Sai Praneeth
The 16th seeded Indian takes on a player who has been on an impressive run in the past year or so. The Asian Games bronze medallist Anthony Sinisuka Ginting famously beat Kento Momota at China Open last year. The Indonesian is the sixth seed in Basel and Sai will have his task cut out, even if the head-to-head is level between the two.
Opponent’s rank: 8
Estimated time: Following Prannoy vs Momota
Head-to-head: Sai Praneeth 2-2 Anthony Ginting
Previous meetings:
K Srikanth
After stumbling past the first two rounds against much lower-ranked opponents in three games each, World No 10 Srikanth faces 20-year-old Kantaphon Wangcharoen of Thailand in the round of 16. The seventh seeded Indian will face the Indonesia Open semi-finalist, seeded 12th, in Basel. He is at his career-best ranking at the moment. This will be the first time the two meet on the circuit.
Opponent’s rank: 15
Expected time: Not before 8.20 pm IST
Head-to-head: No previous meetings
Previous meetings: N/A
Saina Nehwal
After her smooth sailing in the round of 32, the 2015 World Championships silver medallist takes on Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt who just turned 22 a couple of days back. One of the rising stars on the European circuit, Blichfeldt won gold at the European Games in 2019. She reached her career-best ranking in the world recently as well.
Opponent’s rank: 12
Estimated time: Not to start before 9.30 pm IST
Head-to-head: No previous meetings
Previous meetings: N/A
PV Sindhu (TV court 2)
Leaving the best for last, India’s most successful player ever at the Worlds will take on a familiar rival in the round of 16. Sindhu, seeded fifth, faces a tricky match against ninth seed Beiwen Zhang of USA who has shown a knack for upsetting the Indian in the past. Zhang famously beat Sindhu in the final of the India Open in 2018 and that was part of a three-match win streak the American shuttler enjoyed against Sindhu in 2018. Since then, the Indian has won their last two matches. It will be the first meeting between the two this year.
Opponent’s rank: 10
Estimated time: Not to start before 5.30 pm IST
Head-to-head: Sindhu leads 4-3
Previous meetings:
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