The World Badminton Championships has produced some of the best games over the years, with many top shuttlers from across the world participating in the event. It won't be any different this time at Jakarta, Indonesia, when the competition gets underway from 10 August.
Apart from top shuttlers from Spain, China, Japan and Malaysia, Indian players such as Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy will be giving their best to bring glory to their country.
Saina Nehwal is India's biggest hope for a medal at the World Badminton Championships. She has been seeded second in the competition; Spain's Carolina Marin is the top seed.
Saina has stated that the draw for the competition is tough, with stars such as Sayaka Takahashi and Wang Yihan in the same half, but that cannot be an excuse for the Indian, who has not gone beyond the quarter finals stage of the competition till date.
But prior to meeting these heavyweights, Saina Nehwal needs to concentrate on her first match as she faces the winner of Kati Tolmoff and Cheung Ngan Yi in the second round; she has received a bye in the first round.
Another Indian singles player in the women's arena, PV Sindhu, also received a bye in the first round, but could face a difficult task in China's Li Xuerui during the pre quarters. The match promises to be an entertaining one, for both the players are said to be aggressive on the court.
Sindhu has been successful in the tournament, having won bronze medal in the 2013 and 2014 World Championships in China and Demark, respectively.
As far as the men's singles are concerned, India has three top players, including Srikanth, Parupalli Kashyap and Prannoy, who are seeded third, tenth and eleventh, respectively.
Srikanth has been in great form this season and is one of the favourites to win the World Badminton Championships, but his ride is not going to be an easy one, with top shuttlers such as Lin Dan, KentoMomota and Jan O Jorgensen certain to pose a stiff challenge.
In the women's doubles, Ashwini Ponnappa and Jwala Gutta are top-ranked Indian players, as they have been seeded 13th in the competition.
In the men's doubles, India have two pairs, comprising ManuAttri-B.Sumeeth Reddy and Akshay Dewalkar-Pranav Chopra. There are three mixed double pairs from India competiting in the World Badminton Championships this year.
Schedule
Women's Singles
Saina Nehwal
First Round - Bye
Second Round – will meet the winner between Kati Tolmoff and Cheung Ngan Yi
PV Sindhu
First Round - Bye
Second Round - will meet the winner between Line Kjaersfeldt and Chloe Magee
Men's Singles
Kidambi Srikanth
First Round – Kidambi Srikanth vs Michael Fairman
Parupalli Kashyap
First Round - Parupalli Kashyap vs Erik Meijs
HS Prannoy
First Round - HS Prannoy vs Alex Yuwan Tjong
