PV Sindhu is the lone singles player from India in the women's category in the Hong Kong Open, after India's best shuttler Saina Nehwal decided to pull out of the competition. Sindhu has her task cut out as she prepares to face top seed and the current world champion Carolina Marin in the first round on Wednesday.

Carolina Marin has been in a good form this year, winning some important titles, but she must have been disappointed with her performance last week where she was knocked out of the China Open by Wang Shixian in the quarter finals of the competition. Sindhu also did not impress much in the China Open as the India shuttler was also shown the exit doors by Shixian in the pre quarters.

Hence, both the shuttlers will be eager to come up with a better performance in the Hong Kong Open. Though Marin might be a superior player out of the two, Sindhu has a decent head-to-head record over Marin, who has lost twice in their five meetings so far.

Sindhu met Marin in the Denmark Open last month and the Indian shuttler put up a huge performance to defeat the Spaniard in a tight three set affair. Hence, Sindhu must be aware that the world champion will be eying revenge in Hong Kong.

With both shuttlers known for their skills on the court, it promises to be an entertaining match.

Marin, who is an exceptional player at the net, also uses the angles on the court brilliantly to take points from difficult situations. Marin is a complete player with all the shots in the book, which makes her a difficult player to beat. Apart from her strokes, Marin is a mentally strong player as well.

Sindhu, on the other hand, has been gradually improving and loves taking the game to the opposition with her aggressive style of play. However, Sindhu cannot afford to just go all out against Marin, who has a brilliant defence. She needs to come up with a solid plan, which includes some deft touches at the net as well.

Irrespective of the result, one expects a quality game between the two shuttlers on Wednesday.

Where to follow live

PV Sindhu vs Carolina Marin Hong Kong Open live match is scheduled for 4:35pm local time (2:05pm IST) start. There is no live TV coverage in India as Star Sports 4 and Star Sports 4HD will show the matches from quarter finals onwards (Friday) only.

Click here for all the live score updates.

*Expected start time could change as per the duration of other matches.