Both Indian shuttlers, Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu, have progressed to the quarterfinals of the ongoing Badminton Asia Championship in China.
Sindhu looked in amazing form against Macau's Teng Iok U in the pre quarters as she defeated her opponent in straight sets with the score reading, 21-8 and 21-9. The game just lasted for 20 minutes.
The Indian did not look in any sort of discomfort, even though she might just be making a comeback to the circuit after an injury.
There is no doubt about the quality the Indian possesses as she has been seeded eighth in the competition. But her real test lies in her quarter-finals clash against former world number and top seed, Chinese Li Xuerui, which is expected to be a huge game.
Both the stars have met one another twice in their career with the Indian having defeated and lost once. So, these players might know their strategy, though they met last in 2012, after which things have changed for both.
The Indian would be eager to spring in a surprise and defeat the top seed, though it might be a herculean task, especially with the experience Xuerui has gained over the years. She is one of the top shuttlers of the modern era along with India's Saina Nehwal.
Saina is set to face the fifth seed from Chinese Taipei, Tzu Ying Tai, who won her match against Soraya Aghaei in straight sets, 21-8 and 21-11 to set up a date with world number one.
But Saina was made to stretch to three sets against Nozomi Okuhara during the pre quarters as the Indian lost her second set before clinching the third set to finish the game, 21-14, 10-21 and 21-10 with the game lasting for more than hour.
With the tournament progressing to the business end, the Indian cannot afford to take any of her opponents lightly, especially her Chinese Taipei opponent, who has always proved to be a tough for her.
Saina enjoys a 5-4 win loss record against Tzu Ying Tai.
But with the form, Saina has shown of late during the All England, Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold and Malaysia Super Series, she would be considered a favourite to progress through in the competeition.
However, there was a major disappointment for India with top men shuttler, Parupalli Kashyap losing to seventh seed Zhengming Wang during the pre-quarters in the men's singles category.
Hence all hopes now lie on Saina and Sindhu in the singles competition.
Where to Watch Live
The Badminton Asia Championships quarter-final match between PV Sindhu vs Li Xuerui is scheduled for approximately 6 pm local time (3:30pm IST, 6am ET, 11am BST)start, while the game between Saina Nehwal vs Tzu Ying Tai will approximately start at 5:20 pm local time (2:50pm IST, 5:20am ET, 10:20 am BST).
Live streaming for the game can be followed HERE.
