There were a number of Indian players in the ongoing Thailand Open, but only two shuttlers remain in the hunt as the competition has moved to the quarterfinals. Saina Nehwal and B Sai Praneeth will hope to make the semifinals of Thailand Open as they will meet Haruko Suzuki and Kantaphon Wangcharoen in the women's and men's singles respectively on Friday.
With some of the top women shuttlers skipping Thailand Open, Saina has a big chance of winning the title. She has looked composed in her first two matches, beating Martina Repiska and Ying Ying Lee respectively.
Saina has not dropped a single game in the Thailand Open, which will give her the confidence to perform better as the competition has moved to the business end.
Suzuki will also be confident after having come through the qualifying stages and reached so far. This, without a shadow of a doubt, will be her biggest clash.
However, the Indian shuttler could prove to be a tough nut to crack and Saina, in fact, should not have many problems against the 132 ranked player. It will be a massive upset if the Japanese player beats Saina.
Praneeth, on the other hand, has been playing some good badminton. The Indian player has put up impressive performances to reach the quarters.
After having beaten the ninth seed Iskandar Zulkarnain, he will be eager to beat Kantaphon and inch closer to the Thailand Open final. If everything goes according to plan, Praneeth might as well clinch the title.
But for the time being, Praneeth may just want to focus on the Thailand Open quarterfinals.
Where to follow live
Saina Nehwal vs Haruko Suzuki is scheduled for 5:30 pm local time ( 4 pm IST)
B Sai Praneeth vs Kantaphon Wangcharoen is scheduled for 3:50 pm local time ( 2:20 pm IST)
Unfortunately, there is no Live TV coverage.
The live scores can be followed here
