When do the matches start and how to watch them online
The matches will start as early as 10 am local time, 7:30 am IST and 3 am BST on most match days.
Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 2 HD will provide live television coverage of the matches in India. The live stream will be available on Hotstar. (Scroll down for global TV schedule)
Men's singles preview: Who will stop Kento Momota?
A lot has changed in the men's singles field since last year's meet in Glasgow where Viktor Axelsen beat Chinese greats Chen Long and Lin Dan en route to his maiden world title.
The defending champion had suffered a three-month-long injury layoff at the start of the season and is slowly nearing his peak form. Axelsen, who reached the final of Indonesia Open earlier this month, leads the first half of the draw, which also has the likes of Chen, Lin and India's HS Prannoy.
While Axelsen's progress will be keenly followed, the two Chinese Olympic gold medalists have also been far from their best in the ongoing season.
However, few shuttlers are as good as Lin and Chen when it comes to peaking at the right time and the legendary shuttlers love the big stage. Also, they will be backed by a strong home crowd whenever they step onto the court in Nanjing over the next few days.
Lee Chong Wei's absence has taken a bit of sheen out of the tournament. The in-form Malaysia great pulled out of the Grade 1 tournament due to respiratory issues. The three-time Olympic silver medallist is all set to miss this year's Asian Games as well.
On the other hand, Japan's Kento Momota, seeded sixth at the tournament, starts as the overwhelming favourite. The 23-year-old will be featuring in his first world championships since the gambling ban he had received in 2016. (What to expect from Indian shuttlers?)
The reigning Asian champion, who won a bronze at the 2015 edition, has been nearly unstoppable in the ongoing season and has been a cut above the rest. Not many, not even the likes of Axelsen, Kidambi Srikanth, and Lin, have been able to stop Momota's breathtaking run.
Momota has been handed a relatively easy draw and the withdrawn of fourth seed Son Wan Ho means the Japanese star has an easy route to the quarter-final.
Momota is likely to face third-ranked Srikanth in the semi-final. If results from the recent past are anything to by, the Japanese star will cruise into the championship match without much trouble as he has beaten Srikanth twice in the last two months.
Srikanth has been a shadow of the shuttler who won four Superseries titles last year but has managed to consistently reach the final stages of top-tier tournaments this season.
The Indian shuttler will have to find a way to stop the Momota juggernaut if he is to clinch the prestigious crown in Nanjing.
Women's singles preview: Tai Tzu Ying favourite to win maiden title
A world title has been eluding Tai but the world number one from Chinese Taipei looks set to clinch glory in Nanjing.
The 24-year-old heads into the tournament on the back of a 33-1 (win-loss) record. Barring Malaysia Masters, in which she finished runner-up, Tai has gone on to win all the tournaments she has participated, including the All England and the Indonesia Open.
Leading the first half of the draw, Tai may face sixth seed He Bingjiao in the quarter-final.
The in-form shuttler may meet fourth seed and former champion, Ratchanok Intanon in the last-four stage. Notably, the Thailand superstar is the only shuttler to have beaten Tai this year.
Reigning Olympic champion Carolina Marin and Commonwealth Games champion Saina Nehwal are set for a quarter-final meeting and both the shuttlers need to step up if they are to progress beyond the last-eight stage of the tournament.
Akane Yamaguchi, the second seed, leads the bottom half of the draw. The Japanese star is likely to face the winner of a possible quarter-final outing between last year's finalists PV Sindhu and Nozomi Okuhara, in the last-four round.
How to watch BWF World Championships 2018 on TV, online
- Malaysia: TV - Astro Supersport 4; Live stream - Astro Go
- Singapore: TV - Hub Sports 1; Live stream - StarHub Go
- Thailand: TV - True Sport HD 3 & True Sport 7; Live stream - TrueVisions Anywhere
- China: CCTV5 +
- Chinese Taipei: SportsCast Tennis Channel
- Indonesia: Indovision
Daily schedule (Key matches to watch out for on Monday, July 30)
Timings will be updates shortly...
- Sai Praneeth vs Luis Enrique Penalver
- Viktor Axelsen vs Durate Nuno Anjio
- Chen Long vs Hsu Jen Hao
- Shi Yuqi vs Adam Mendrek
- Lin Dan vs Mark Caljouw
- HS Prannoy vs Abhinav Manota
