Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy will look to book berths in the last-four stages of the ongoing Denmark Superseries Premier tournament when they play their respective quarter-final matches on Friday, October 20.
After the exit of PV Sindhu as early as in the first round, Saina has been successfully leading the Indian campaign in the women's singles circuit in Odense. The world number 12 opened her campaign by crushing reigning Olympic champion Carolina Marin 22-20, 21-18 in the opening match of the tournament on Wednesday.
Saina faces higher-ranked opponent
The 27-year-old, who last won a Superseries title in June last year, went on to beat lower-ranked Nitchaon Jindapol in the Round of 16 yesterday. Saina will now face world number five Akane Yamaguchi in the quarter-final later today.
Saina started the ongoing season on a bright note when she emerged victorious at the season-opening Malaysia Masters. However, she struggled to make an impact in Supseries tournaments after failing to attain full fitness following a knee injury that hampered the second half of her 2016 season.
However, Saina has been looking more confident on the court following her bronze medal-winning run at the World Championships in August. The Indian shuttler though faces a stern test against Yamaguchi, the fourth seeded Japanese shuttler in the last-eight round.
Notably, Saina lost their only meeting in 2017 in the opening round of Malaysia Open 19-21, 21-13, 21-15. It will be interesting to see how Yamaguchi holds up if the match goes to the decider again as she played a draining three-game encounter against Beiwen Zhang only yesterday.
Quaterfinals day ??...#DenmarkOpenSS 2017 (Odense) ...? pic.twitter.com/hwfE6yJbCr
— Saina Nehwal (@NSaina) October 20, 2017
Live streaming & TV coverage
India: TV: Star Sports 2. Live streaming: Hotstar
Malaysia: TV: Astro Supersport. Live streaming: Astro Go
Singapore: TV: Star Hub. Live streaming: Starhub Go
China: TV: CCTV 5+
Worldwide live streaming: BWF YouTube channel [Not available in India]
Live scores can be followed on BWF's official website.
Prannoy faces another tough test
Meanwhile, Prannoy will head into his men's singles quarter-final outing against world number two Son Wan Ho after having stunned Malaysian great Lee Chong Wei in his Round of 16 outing yesterday.
The world number 14 defeated Chong Wei 21-17, 11-21, 21-19 in the match that lasted an hour and four minutes after making a comeback from being 10-13 down in the decider.
The 25-year-old was at his defensive best against Chong Wei and he will has to come up with another inspired display if he is to test Son, who has been the most consistent shuttler this season despite not being able to win a title.
Notably Prannoy has a 1-2 head-to-head record over Son, with his only win over the South Korean star coming this year at the Badminton Asia Championships 2017.
Cracking contest on the cards
On the other hand, Srikanth faces a tough test against reigning world champion Viktor Axelsen in his last-eight outing today. The Dane, who is also the top-ranked men's singles player, has stitched a 13-match unbeaten run, that includes titles in Glasgow and Japan.
On the other hand, Srikanth, who looked unbeatable early in the season with back-to-back Superseries titles in Indonesia and Australia, has struggled to make a mark ever since he lost the quarter-final of the World Championships.
Notably, Srikanth lost the Japan Open quarter-final last month in straight games to eventual champion Axelsen.
Srikanth has not won a single match against the in-form Danish shuttler since 2015. Anything short of his best might not be enough for the Indian shuttler to progress to the semi-final.
However, a win against Axelsen will not just give him the satisfaction of avenging his Japan Open loss, but also a lot of confidence to get back to winning ways in the ongoing season.
Schedule of Indian Quarter-final matches on Friday, October 20
- Saina Nehwal vs Akane Yamaguchi - Not before 9pm IST
- HS Prannoy vs Son Wan Ho - Not before 10:30pm IST
- Kidambi Srikanth vs Viktor Axelsen - Not before 11pm IST
