The Thomas and Uber Cup has reached the last day of the round robin stages, and there are some mouth-watering matches lined up in the competition on Wednesday. India will face Japan in the Uber Cup, and the winner will top Group D while China will meet Japan in the Thomas Cup. India men will also take on Indonesia in their last match.
India vs Japan Uber Cup
The winner of this all-important clash between two heavyweights of world badminton will clinch top position in Group D. India and Japan have been in stupendous form in Uber Cup so far, with both the nations thrashing Australia and Germany. However, this India-Japan tie is the biggest match in the group.
With the tie including five matches, a team, which registers three wins, will emerge triumphant. India will depend on the services of Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhi in the singles arena, but they have their task cut out as Japan's single players include Nozomi Okuhara and Sayaka Sato, who are quality best players in the badminton circuit.
Besides the singles players, they have a formidable duo of Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi in the doubles section. The Japanese duo is ranked number one double pair in the world, hence Ashwini Ponnappa and Jwala Gutta will have to be on their toes to spring a surprise. Sindhu will also take part in the doubles, while Ruthvika Shivani Gadde is expected to feature as the third singles player for India against Japan.
Irrespective of which nation emerges victorious, both India and Japan have booked their quarterfinal spot in China.
China vs Japan Thomas Cup
China have always been a huge force in world badminton, and they are one of the favourites for the Thomas Cup title. With players such as Lin Dan and Chen Long, who have dominated the international circuit for the past many years, they are going to face some stiff challenges from the Japanese. Sho Shasaki and Takuma Euda will lead Japan's line in the singles arena, while they also have a good doubles pair in Hiroyuki Endo and Kenichi Hayakawa. An interesting tie is on the cards, with the winner taking pole position in their group.
India vs Indonesia Thomas Cup
India have been the poorest team in the group, losing their first two matches against Thailand and Hong Kong, and are set to face another tough opponent, Indonesia on Wednesday. But they might be keen to go off on a high, and register a surprising win against Indonesia.
Where to watch Thomas and Uber Cup live
All the Thomas and Uber Cup matches will be broadcast live in India on Star Sports 2/HD 2. India vs Japan Uber Cup and India vs Indonesia Thomas Cup is expected to start at 1:30 p.m. local time (11 a.m. IST). China vs Japan Thomas Cup is scheduled for 7 p.m local time (4:30 p.m IST)
The online streaming destinations for Thomas and Uber Cup 2016 are starsports.com and Hotstar. For international viewers, the online streaming is available on the BWF youtube account.
The live scores of the matches can also be found HERE.
