Glasgow is gearing up for the biggest sporting event of the year as the 22nd edition of BWF World Championships kickstarts on Monday, August 21. Top stars from across the globe will be in action at the week-long annual world meet.
Defending champions Chen Long and Carolina Marin are once again entering the tournament as favourites, while India have sent one of its strongest contingents to the world meet.
Click here to watch Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth live
Chen along with Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan are likely to dominate the Men's singles field at the upcoming meet.
While the reigning Olympic champion has been in fine form, winning the Badminton Asia Championships and finishing as runner-up at Australian Open in June, Chong Wei and Lin will be motivated to give their best as the Glasgow meet is likely to be their last appearance at the world meet.
The Big Three [Full schedule | Seeding information]
Chong Wei, the three-time Olympic Silver medalist, has never won a Gold at the world meet. But the 34-year-old, who is seeded second this edition, will look to rewrite the history books.
The Malaysian legend faces a tricky first-round test against France's Brice Leverdez and is likely to face 10th seed Tian Houwei of China as early as in the second round.
The match of the tournament might come as early as in the quarter-final as Chong Wei is expected to face defending champion Chen as both the shuttlers are drawn in the same quarter.
On the other hand, five-time World Champion and seventh seed Lin faces local Kieran Merrilees in the opening round. He is likely to face 16th seed Rajiv Ouseph or India's Sameer Verma before the quarter-final rounds.
Live streaming and TV coverage information
Global Live streaming will be available on BWF's official YouTube channel
India: TV: Star Sports 1/1 HD. Live streaming: Hotstar
UK: TV: BBC. Live streaming: BBC Sport
Malaysia: TV: Astro Supersport. Live streaming: Astro Go
China: TV: LETV, CCTV 5+
Singapore: TV: StarHub. Live streaming: StarHub Go
US: TV: One World Sport
Denmark: TV: TV 2
Hong Kong: TV: iCable, PCCW
Strong Indian contingent
India's biggest hope at the world meet will be eight seed Kidambi Srikanth, who has set the circuit on fire with back-to-back Superseries titles -- Indonesia Superseries Premier and Australian Open. The Rio Olympic quarter-finalist also became the first shuttler since Lee in 2011 to reach three straight Superseries finals.
The 24-year-old proved he is ready for Glasgow when he stunned Chen in straight games in the final of Australian Open in June. Placed in the first quarter, the eighth-seeded Indian shuttler might have to face world number one Son Wan Ho in the quarter-final.
Singapore Superseries winner Sai Praneeth, seeded 15th, will begin his campaign against Wei Nan of Hong Kong. Placed in the third quarter, sixth seed Chou Tien Chen and third seed Viktor Axelsen are his major hurdles before the final rounds.
Veteran Ajay Jayaram, seeded 13th, opens his campaign against Luka Wraber of Denmark, while the only unseeded Indian men's singles shuttler Sameer will face Spain's Pablo Abian in the opening round.
Marin, PV Sindhu headline Women's singles field
Tai Tzu Ying, who was in the form of her life -- winning five Superseries titles on the trot -- will not be in action at the world meet as the Taiwanese star pulled out of the tournament. In her absence, Japanese youngster Akane Yamaguchi will be the top seed.
Defending champion Marin has not won a Superseries title ever since she clinched Gold at Rio Games last year. However, her ability to deliver on the big stage makes her the overwhelming favoutie in Glasgow.
India's PV Sindhu, who already has two World Championships Bronze medals in her bag, is an improved player after she won the Silver in Rio de Janeiro last year. The 22-year-old, who is the fourth seed at the event, is known for her big-tournament abilities and thus is likely to finish on the podium.
On the other hand, Saina Nehwal will be looking to shrug off her poor form and get back to her best at the word meet. Notably, the 12th seed finished second best in the 2015 edition after losing to Marin in the final.
Live scores of all the matches can be followed on the tournament's official website.
