After a disappointing performance by Indian shuttlers in the Japan Open, they will be eager to prove their credentials in the Korea Open.
Though Saina Nehwal decided to skip the competition, India will bank upon the services of PV Sindhu and Kidambi Sriknath in the women's and men's singles competition, respectively.
Parupalli Kashyap, who is unseeded in the Korea Open, is also another big gun for India.
In Saina's absence, the onus will be on Sindhu, who lost in the first round of the Japan Open. Things do not look too good for Sindhu in the Korea Open also; she has to come up with a big game against the former world champion, Ratchanak Intanon, who has been seeded third in the competition.
The Indonesian shuttler holds a huge advantage over the Indian, who has not registered a single victory against Intanon. The former world champion enjoys a 3-0 win loss record against the Indian, which will only encourage Intanon. What makes it worse for Sindhu is the nature of the defeat, as she has not won a single set against Intanon in the three previous matches.
They last met in Hongkong Open in 2013, but Sindhu has improved a lot after her last encounter. Sindhu needs to come up with her A class game if she wants to clinch her first victory against Intanon and move ahead in the competition.
In the men's section, third seed Srikanth is the biggest hope for India. After a below-par performance in the world championships as well as the Japan Open, Srikanth, who has started the season well, will be eager to get back to his winning ways in the Korea Open, where he faces a tough opponent in the form of Tian Houwei of China.
The Chinese player, though unseeded, is a top player, who has a 2-0 record against Srikanth. Tian Houwei defeated Srikanth in the Australian Open and the Malaysian Open during the year, which establishes another difficult game for Srikanth.
Srikanth, who has a solid game, might be short of confidence, and a victory against Tian Houwei can boost his morale.
Apart from Srikanth, eighth seed Parupalli Kashyap will also be in action against Wei Nan in the first round of the competition.
Overall, a tough first round lies for the two Indian shuttlers.
Where to Watch live
PV Sindhu vs Ratchanak Intanon match has been scheduled for 11:30am local time (8am IST) start, while Kidambi Sriknath vs Tian Houwei will approximately start at 1pm local time (9:30amIST) with live streaming option on bwfworldsuperseries.com.
Live scorecard of all the matches can be followed here.
