After winning their group matches against Canada, Hong Kong and Thailand, Indian eves are set to face three-time champion Indonesia in the quarterfinals of the Uber Cup at the Siri Fort Sports Complex in Delhi.
India finished top of Group Y as team captain Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu and doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa remained unbeaten in the group stages.
Star shuttler Nehwal is back in form after defeating world champion Ratchanok Intanon in the final group match. She played with confidence and her movements on court were much better, compared to the first two matches.
"I still can't believe that I beat her in straight games and that too over here, where I have never played well," Nehwal said after beating Ratchanok. "I got so emotional after winning. She is a world No 4 player and winning against her means I have trained really well and I hope to continue that in future."
World number eight Nehwal is still not 100 percent as the knee injury continues to affect her game. She said it is restricting her game and she is still not feeling confident while approaching the net.
After sealing the tie against Thailand 3-0, Indian coach Pullela Gopichand decided to field Nehwal and Sindhu for the second doubles. Nehwal said they are not doubles specialists but as the regular pair was not performing well, team management decided to use them.
"We are singles players, we do practice sometimes but it is for the country," she said. Obviously, we won't be as good as them but since our second doubles is not so good, so we thought we will try to pull it off."
The first doubles match is not an issue for India as the Commonwealth Games gold medallist pair of Gutta and Ponnappa won all three matches in the tournament. PC Thulashi has also won two out of three matches in the third singles.
The Indian doubles pair will face stiff competition from Indonesia world number nine duo of Nitya Krishinda Maheswari and Greysia Polii. Lindaweni Fanetri, Bellaetrix Manuputty and Adrianti Firdasari will be competing in the three singles for Indonesia.
Where to Watch Live
The day's play is scheduled for an 9:00 am IST, 3:30 am GMT start, with live coverage on Star Sports 4 and Sport Sports HD 1 in India. The matches can be watched via live streaming option HERE, and can be live streamed by international viewers HERE.
