Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy have a good opportunity to hit peak form in Thailand Open — the penultimate major tournament of the ongoing season in the lead up to World Championships, which will be held later this month.
How to watch Thailand Open on TV, online
Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 2 HD will provide live television coverage of the match in India. The live stream will be available on Hotstar.
The withdrawal of top shuttlers - including Indonesia Open champions from last week, Kento Momota and Tai Tzu Ying, Lee Chong Wei, Viktor Axelsen, Chen Long, Kidambi Srikanth, and Saina Nehwal - has taken the sheen out of Super 500 tournament, which starts on Tuesday, July 10.
Notably, Srikanth and Saina had entered the draw but withdrew on the eve of the tournament.
Women's singles preview: Sindhu handed easy draw
Sindhu, the fourth seed, will be hoping to end her title drought in the ongoing tournament. The world number three has not been in the best of forms and heads into the tournament after a disappointing quarter-final exit in Indonesia.
The Rio Olympic silver medalist opens her campaign against lower-ranked Linda Zetchiri of Bulgaria. With only one seeded shuttler — Nitchaon Jindapol [6] — in her half, the Indian poster girl has a good chance to make the semi-final without facing tough tests.
World number two Akane Yamaguchi headlines the first half of the draw and she may face India Open winner Beiwen Zhang in the quarter-final.
Reigning world champion Nozomi Okuhara is seeded fourth and she may face compatriot and eighth seed Sayaka Sato in the quarter-final.
Notably, Sato opens her campaign against Vaishnavi Jakka Reddy of India, who had recently created a stir as her grandmother filed a writ petition against national chief coach Pullela Gopichand over exclusion from Asian Games squad.
Prannoy starts as the highest-seeded player
Meanwhile, fourth seed Prannoy, who had reached the semi-final in Indonesia last week, will look to continue the good run. He faces Pablo Abian of France in the first-round and has no real threat until at least the semi-final.
In the absence of Shi Yuqi, Srikanth, and Chen, the reigning national champions stats the tournament as the highest seed.
Veteran shuttler Parupalli Kashyap returns to the tour after a long layoff. The world number 55 also has an easy route to the knockout stages of the tournament, provided she shakes off rustiness and gets the job done.
Sameer Verma has been seeded eighth and he faces local hope Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk in the first-round on Wednesday, July 11.
Global TV listings and live stream: Indonesia Open 2018
Malaysia: Astro Arena, Astro Arena HD; Live stream: Astro Go
China: CCTV 5+
