All the men's singles players -- Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy and Parupalli Kashyap -- from India have progressed to the second round of the competition in the World Badminton Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia. The trio will be in action on Wednesday.
Here is a look at the respective second round matches for the Indian shuttlers.
HS Prannoy vs Edwin Ekiring
Schedule Time for the match – 9am local time (7:30 am IST)
The 11th seed, HS Prannoy will face Edwin Ekiring in the second round after having defeated Brazilian Alex Tjong comfortably in the first match. The score read 21-12 and 21-16. Ekiring, who defeated Dmytro Zavadsky, should be confident ahead of his clash with Prannoy.
Indonesia Masters winner Prannoy should be considered favourites to defeat Ekiring, but the Indian cannot afford to take his opponent lightly. The winner of the match is expected to meet Dane shuttler Viktor Axelsen, who has been seeded seventh in the pre-quarters.
Parupalli Kashyap vs Nguyen Tien Minh
Schedule Time for the match – 11am local time approx. (9:30am IST)
Parupalli Kashyap is one of the most talented players in the badminton circuit for India, but his performance in the circuit has not reflected his ability. Hence, the ongoing World Badminton Championships is a huge test for the player, who will face Vietnam's Nguyen Tien Minh in the second round of the men's singles.
Kashyap did not have much trouble in defeating Erik Meijs in the first round with the score reading 21-17 and 21-10. Kashyap should not break much sweat against Minh as he should rather save energy for a potential clash against Kento Momota, the 4th seed for the pre-quarters.
Kidambi Srikanth vs Hsu Jen Hao
Schedule Time for the match – 2:15pm local time (12:45 pm IST)
Third seed Kidambi Srikanth is India's biggest hope in the men's singles after coming into the tournament with some impressive title wins during the year. Srikanth will be eying the World Championships as it is the biggest annual prize in world badminton. Srikanth looked good in his first match against Michael Fariman, but the shuttler is fully aware of the level of the competition , which awaits in the business end of the competition.
Taiwan's Hao might be able to compete against Srikanth, but the Indian, considering his form during the year, should be able to overcome the challenge.
Where to Watch Live
The World Badminton Championships is scheduled for a 9am local time start (7:30 am IST) and Star Sports 4/HD will offer live coverage for viewers in India with live streaming onstarsports.com.
Viewers around the world can follow the game online on Badminton World TV.
Live scorecard of all the matches on the third day can be followed here.
