BWF World Championships LIVE: Vimal Kumar says, ‘Pornpawee will be the biggest threat for PV Sindhu’: Follow LIVE Updates

BWF World Championships LIVE – PV Sindhu World Badminton: The BWF World Championships starts on Sunday but India’s badminton queen PV Sindhu begins her quest to defend her title to Tuesday. Former India coach Vimal Kumar is of the opinion that Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong will be her biggest challenge at the World Championship: Follow BWF World Championships LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN

“Pornpawee is right on the money at this moment and it is going to be a tough match for Sindhu. She needs to play smart and formulate a different strategy is she has to get past her as she has already lost twice before,” Vimal Kumar told InsideSport.

Also read: BWF World Badminton Championship: Can PV Sindhu defend her title with Tai Tzu, Pornpawee hanging in same Quarter? Check DETAILS

Indians in Action at World BADMINTON Championships – Round 1

• PV Sindhu (Seeded 6th) – Bye Round 1
• Lakshya Sen vs Max Weiksskirchen (GER)
• Kidambi Srikanth (12) vs Pablo Abian (SPA)
• Sai Praneeth (14) vs Mark Caljouw (NED)
• HS Prannoy vs NG Ka Long Angus (HKG)
• Satwik / Chirag (8) – Bye Round 1
• Manu Attri / Sumeeth Reddy vs Joel Eipe / Rasmus (DEN)
• Pooja / Sanjana vs Alyssa / Van Der Aar
• Maneesha / Rutaparna vs Jacqueline / Samia (BRA)
• Ponappa / Sikki vs Delphine / Lee Palemro
• Sourabh / Anoushka Parikh vs Rehan / Lisa Ayu (INA)
• MR Arjun / Maneesha vs Yeung Ming / NG Tsz Yau (HKG)

BWF World Championships LIVE: Vimal Kumar says, ‘PV Sindhu’s biggest challenge will come from Pornpawee Chochuwong’

PV Sindhu World Badminton – Sindhu vs Pornpawee LIVE: The draw is a tough one for the two-time Olympic medallist and the biggest challenge facing the 26-year-old is the in-form Thai shuttler Pornpawee Chochuwong who lies in wait in the third round.

• The lone Indian female shuttler in the fray this time begins with a bye in the opening round.
• Due to Indonesia withdrawing from the competition, Martina Repiska is going to be PV Sindhu’s second round opponent.
• Sindhu plays Pornpawee in Pre Quarters
• Winners plays the Quarterfinal against Tai Tzu Ying.

“Pornpawee is right on the money at this moment and it is going to be a tough match for Sindhu. She needs to play smart and formulate a different strategy is she has to get past her as she has already lost twice before,” Vimal Kumar told InsideSport.

What should Sindhu do against Pornpawaee? In terms of tactics, Vimal Kumar opined that Sindhu should not give away easy points like the previous outings and should wait for the correct moment to attack. PV Sindhu has lost to Pornpawee in last 2 encounters at the All England & recently concluded BWF World Tour Finals.

“She should be able to prolong the rallies and ready to pounce at the right time. Sindhu stop stop giving away loose points like she did on the last two occasions. Pornpawee has the ability to hit cross court hard smashes and Sindhu should be ready to return those and then make her move.”

According to Vimal, both have similar styles of play, a similar build but while Pornpawee holds the edge in terms of her repertoire of deceptive strokes, Sindhu holds the upper hand when it comes to fitness.

“Pornpawee is also on the taller side and can play those deceptive shots quite well. But If Sindhu is taking the shuttle early and moving well, then Sindhu’s fitness can help her clinch it.”

BWF World Championships LIVE: Vimal Kumar says, ‘Pornpawee will be the biggest threat for PV Sindhu’: Follow LIVE Updates

BWF World Championships: Pornpawee Chochuwong is the biggest challenge for PV Sindhu, says Vimal Kumar

With regards to the potential quarterfinal clash against Tai Tzu Ying if Sindhu overcomes the Thai challenge, Vimal Kumar feels Sindhu can edge it as she already knows what it takes to beat the Taiwanese even though TTY has the advantage when it comes to overall head-to-head.

“Sindhu has played her many times and even though the record is in Tai Tzu’s favour, I’m sure Sindhu will prepare well and having more match fitness will be another factor which will aid Sindhu. Tai Tzu has not played as many matches as her and will be rusty for sure.”

With home hero Carolina Marin pulling out, the remaining challenge for India’s biggest hope might come from Akane Yamaguchi and An Seyoung, who beat Sindhu in the BWF World Tour Finals, both of whom are in the bottom half.

“The slow nature of the shuttle suited An Seyoung and Yamaguchi to an extent in Indonesia. But in Spain, Sindhu, if she makes it to the last four stage, will be quietly confident of putting it across her opponents. Not to mention her big-game mentality,” Vimal Kumar added.

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