India's P V Sindhu has been hugely successful in the world badminton championship as she has won two bronze medals in the 2013 and 2014 edition of the mega event. The Indian shuttler, after a terrific win over Li Xuerui, is in great shape to complete her hat-trick of medals in the 2015 World Badminton Championship.
After overthrowing third seed Li Xuerui, Sindhu needs to come up with a similar performance against another top shuttler from South Korea, Sung Ji-Hyun during the quarter finals of the competition on Friday.
Sung Ji-Hyun might not be on the level of Li Xuerui, but the Korean shuttler, who has been in the circuit for some years, can prove to be a difficult opponent as she has won big titles such as Korean Grand Prix Gold and the Chinese Taipei Open.
Sung has not dropped a single set in the competition, but the Korean shuttler has not faced a superior player in the competition so far, hence Sindhu will prove to be her biggest test.
On the contrary, Sindhu should be high on confidence after her victory over Li Xuerui, who is not only the third seed in the competition, but also the 2012 London Olympic gold medallist.
Sindhu looked superb in her pre-quarter match against Xuerui as she played an aggressive game against the Chinese and the third seed could not come in terms with his aggressive nature despite valiant efforts.
However, Sindhu may adopt a similar style against Sung Ji-Hyun also. But the girl from Hyderabad needs to be on the top of her game and not commit those small mistakes - - unforced errors -- against Li Xuerui.
Else, it was an all round performance from the Indian, who has been criticised for her defense in the past. Badminton fans in India can expect the shuttler to come up some power smashes against Sung Ji-Hyun, which has been a hallmark of Sindhu's game.
With Sindhu being touted as a favourite to defeat Sung Ji-Hyun in the last eight, the 11th seed might already have her eyes set on the other quarter final between top seed Carolina Marin and Wang Shixian.
The winner of the Sindhu-Hyun clash meets either Marin or Shixian in the last four.
Where to Watch Live
The championship is scheduled for a 11am local time start (9:30 am IST) and Star Sports 4/HD will offer all the live coverage for viewers in India with live streaming on starsports.com.
PV Sindhu vs Sung Ji-Hyun quarter finals live coverage is scheduled for approximately 2pm local time (12:30pm 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.
