Gold Coast: Having booked a spot at the knockout stage of the Sudirman Cup badminton championships, India will have to play out of their skins to break the Chinese wall in the quarterfinals here Friday. This is only the second time that India managed to reach the knockout stage, following their quarterfinal finish at the 2011 edition when they lost to China 1-3.
China have two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan and reigning Rio gold medallist Chen Long in their ranks and it will take a gigantic effort from India to get across them in the men’s singles.
Among the Indians, only Kidambi Srikanth has ever beaten Lin Dan en route to his title triumph at the 2014 China Open and he will need to be at his best to outdo the Chinese again.
In women’s singles, PV Sindhu will also have her task cut out irrespective of whether she plays World No.7 He Bingjiao or World No.6 Sun Yu. World No.5 Sindhu had lost to Bingjiao at the Asia Championships last month, while the she has a 3-4 record against Sun.
Women’s World No.4 doubles pair of Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan and the makeshift combo of Bao Yixin and Tang Jinhua have done the job for China and it will be an interesting contest for Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy, who have shown the stomach to fight.
In mixed doubles, Ashwini and young Satwiksairaj Rankireddy too have dished out a gritty performance in the event so far and they would look to challenge the supremacy of the World No.2 duo of Lu Kai and Huang Yaqiong if they are fielded by China.
PTI
