After a disappointing performance by the Indian shuttlers -- Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth primarily -- in the Denmark Open, the onus falls on the lone survivor, PV Sindhu, who has a huge task at hand as she faces China's Wang Yihan in the quarterfinals of the badminton competition on Friday.
Wang and Sindhu come into their quarterfinal clash after easy wins in their respective second round matches -- against Yui Hashimoto and Tai Tzu Ying respectively. Wang defeated Hashimoto 21-10, 21-9 while Sindhu overpowered Tzu Ying 21-12, 21-15.
Sindhu should be even more confident, not only did she come up with a stunning display against the third seed, but she is yet to drop a set in the competition. Wang, on the other hand, survived a first round scare, as the Chinese had to grind her way out in the match against South Korea's Bae Yeon Ju.
Wang, who has won the Denmark Open twice in her career, has a strong head-to-head record against Sindhu, who has only defeated the Chinese once in her last five meetings. They have only met once this season, though, during the Australian Open, where PV Sindhu, despite a superb performance, lost the game in the deciding set.
However, PV Sindhu should not worry about her past record against Wang, and instead draw inspiration from her last victory over Tzu Ying, who also enjoyed a better career record over the Indian.
Sindhu should just concentrate on what she knows best, which is to attack and push the opponent to the backfoot early on. The task might look an uphill one, as the Chinese possesses a strong all-round game, including a strong defence. Sindhu needs to weave her magic to get through Wang's defence, which can be made possible via her powerful smashes.
Sindhu, who has always been an aggressive player, should come up with the same approach to oust the sixth seed of the Denmark Open.
If Sindhu beats Wang Yihan, her path does not get any easier, as the Indian is expected to meet world champion Carolina Marin in the last four on Saturday.
Where to watch live
PV Sindhu vs Wang Yihan quarter final match is scheduled for 7:20pm local time (10:50pm IST) start.
Star Sports 4/HD will offer live coverage of the Denmark Open matches in India, while live streaming option is also available on starsports.com.
Click here for all the live score updates.
Other matches of the Denmark Open will be streamed live on BadmintonWorld.tv
*Expected start time could change as per the duration of other matches.
