LIVE BWF World Championships | Round 1
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India would be starting their World Championships on Monday with renewed determination as the competition would be determining some of the places travelling to the Tokyo Olympics next year. Fans would need to wait to see PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal, both of whom got byes in the first round.
With Swastiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty already pulling out of the competition, India’s chances have reduced to some extent. However, India’s biggest hope for a medal in the tournament would still be Sindhu, who has reached the final twice in the tournament previously. Apart from her, Nehwal would be looking to find her ground after returning from recurrent injuries.
In the men’s draw, however, India would have as many as four competitors fighting it out from Monday. While India’s top seed Kidambi Srikanth would be starting against Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen, Sameer Verma would take on Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew in his first match. The other two – B Sai Praneeth and HS Prannoy - would be taking on Canada’s Jason Anthony Ho-Shue and Finland’s Eetu Heino simultaneously.
In the absence of Rankireddy and Shetty, India would have their hopes pinged on Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy, who have shown some promise over the last few months. Their start against French pair Thom Gicquel and Ronan Labar would determine a lot of things. The mixed doubles pairing of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy would be up against the English mixed pair of Ben Lane and Jessica Pugh.
