BWF World Championships 2022: PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, Saina Nehwal handed tough draws

India’s Commonwealth Games Gold medalists PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen will have their task cut out at the BWF World Championships, starting August 21 in Tokyo. In what is the biggest prize of the year in badminton, Indian shuttlers need to step up and deliver to stand a chance of finishing on the podium.

PV Sindhu, who will return to the city where she won her 2nd Olympic medal last year, is projected to face World No. 3 An Se Young in the quarter-finals. Sindhu, who won the women’s singles Gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, has not managed to beat the South Korean sensation in 5 meetings on the tour.

Sindhu has lost to An twice this year, which includes a straight-game defeat in the group stage of Uber Cup in May. in fact, Sindhu has not managed to take a game against An in any of their 5 meetings.

SINDHU TO FACE AN TEST

Sindhu, who will receive a first-round bye, will open her campaign against Qi Xuefei and China’s Han Yue in the second round. Sindhu will look to take confidence from the winning run in Birmingham as she targets a 2nd world title after having lost in the quarter-final to Tai Tzu Ying last year.

If Sindhu gets past the An test in the quarter-finals, she has projected to set up a semi-final clash with top seed Akane Yamaguchi. Also in Sindhu’s half of the draw is Rio Olympics Gold medalist Carolina Marin, who has been seeded No. 5 in the women’s singles field. The superstar shuttler from Spain, who missed the Tokyo Games due to an ACL injury, returned to action at the European Championships earlier this year and competed in Malaysia Open and the Indonesia Open.

Meanwhile, Saina Nehwal, who was not able to defend her title at Commonwealth Games, will be looking to make a statement in Tokyo. However, the London Olympic bronze medalist will open her campaign against Hong Kong’s Cheung Ngan Yi.

However, the going will get tougher for Saina as she is projected to face 6th seed Nozomi Okuhara in the second round.

LAKSHYA, SRIKANTH AND PRANNOY IN SAME QUARTER

On the other hand, Meanwhile, 2019 World Championships bronze medalist Sai Praneeth will be up against 4th seed Chou Tien Chen of Taiwan in a tough opening-round battle.

12th seed Kidambi Srikanth, who won silver medal in Huelva last year, will face Nhat Ngugen in his opening round and is projected to face 5th seed Lee Zii Jia in the Round of 16. Notably, the Malaysian star took a break from the Commonwealth Games to manage his workload ahead of the World Championships.

On the other hand, 9th seed Lakshya Sen, the highest-ranked Indian shuttler in the men’s singles draw, will open his campaign against Hans Kristan Solberg.

HS Prannoy, who has been in fine form in the ongoing season, is projected to face No. 2 seed Kento Momota as early as the 2nd round.

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