Two of the best Indian shuttlers, Saina Nehwal in women's singles and Kidambi Srikanth in the men's singles, will be in action at Sydney's Olympic Park on Wednesday during the prestigious Australian Open.
Though Saina Nehwal has been seeded second in the competition, it is going to be strong test for the Indian as a number of top shuttlers from around the world have gathered in Australia for the competition.
With Olympic qualifying points available in the competition, Australian Open is expected to be a close contest in all the categories.
Saina starts off her campaign against Malaysian Lyddia Cheah Yi Yu, who had to clear the qualifications phase to get a chance in the main draw. The Indian should not have a major problem considering the form she has shown in the year winning the Indian Super Series and Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold title. She also reached the finals of the All England Open.
Of late, she has been shining bright as she was the lone Indian star to win both her singles matches in the Sudirman Cup, though India was ousted from the group stages.
If the world number one shows similar form during the competition, she has a good chance of defending her title.
The Indian has been carrying the national flag on her shoulders for a long time and has been India's pride in the sport. But the sport has been growing over the years in India with players such as Parupalli Kashyap and Kidambi Srikanth announcing themselves on the world stage.
Srikanth is one of the major hopes in the men's singles category during the ongoing Australian Open and has been seeded fourth. With Chinese players such as Lin Dan and Chen Long in the tournament, the Indian has to come up with his A class game to defeat tougher opponents.
Srikanth faces Denmark's Hans-Kristian Vittinghus, who has not had a good year so far with only four wins and five losses. The Indian cannot take things lightly against the Dane, but he might be a bit confident about the match with the record he has this year, which reads 18 wins and 5 losses.
The fourth seed has had a good year winning the Swiss Open as well as the Indian Open.
Where to Watch Live
K. Srikanth vs Hans-Kristian Vittinghus is expected to start at 6:10 pm local time (1:40pm IST, 4:10am ET and 9:10am BST) start, while Saina Newhwal vs Cheah Lyddia Yi Yu will approximately start at 7:30pm local time (3 pm IST, 5:30am ET and 10:30 am BST).
There is no live coverage in India, but the live scores can be followed on the BWF Super Series official website.
International viewers can stream it live here.
