The Indian shuttlers in the singles arena during the ongoing World Badminton championship have been mighty impressive after Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy, Parupalli Kashyap and PV Sindhu progressed into the second round of the competition.
Now all eyes will be on Saina Nehwal, who will start off her campaign against Cheung Ngan Yi in the second round after receiving a bye in the first round.
Saina Nehwal should walk past Cheung Ngan Yi, if the Indian star plays her normal game. But, Saina, the player she is, will not take her opponent lightly. She treats her opponents with utmost respect and plays as per the situation demands. It is this quality of her, which has helped her dominate the sport.
But the Hongkong player should be confident after having progressed to the second round of the competition after defeating Kati Tolmoff in the first round to set up a date with second seed Saina Nehwal. Cheung Ngan Yi was in complete control as she defeated Tolmoff in straight sets with the score reading 21-15 and 21-11.
Despite the convincing win, Cheung Ngan Yi should be aware of the tough task she is up against in the second round.
Second seed Saina is expected to meet some top players in the later stages of the competition. If things go according to plan, the Indian shuttler could meet Sayaka Takahashi in the prequarters, which is going to be a huge clash.
"The draw is really tough with Sayaka Takahashi and Wang Yihan both in my half. They are very strong players, so let's see how it will be for me in this tournament. I hope I do well this time," PTI quoted Saina Nehwal as saying.
However, if Saina wants to win her first world championship, the second seed needs to defeat quality players and progress further in the competition, where the shuttler from India can expect an even huge clash in the business end of the world badminton championship.
Along with second seed Saina Nehwal, top seed Carolina Marin and third seed Li Xuerui are favourites for the world championship. Still, one cannot overlook other competitors such as Wang Shixian and Ratchanok Intanon amongst other shuttlers.
Where to Watch Live
The world badminton championship is scheduled for a 9am local time start (7:30 am IST)and Star Sports 4/HD will offer all the live coverage for viewers in India with live streaming on starsports.com.
Saina Nehwal vs Cheung Ngan Yi match is scheduled to start not before 4pm local time (2:30pm IST)
Viewers around the world can follow the game online on Badminton World TV.
Live scorecard of all the 2015 World Badminton Championship matches can be followed here.
