Defending champion Kidambi Srikanth takes on world number one Kento Momota of Japan in the men's singles semi-final of Denmark Open 2018 at the Odense Sports Park on Saturday, October 20.
When does the match start and how to watch it live
The semi-final match of the World Tour Super 750 tournament will not start before 1 pm local time, 4:30 pm IST and 12 pm BST.
Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 2 HD will provide live television coverage of the match in India. The live stream will be available on Hotstar.
Srikanth vs Momota preview
Srikanth, it seems, has found his mojo back after what had been an ordinary first nine months of the ongoing season. Barring Commonwealth Games wherein he finished runner-up, the 25-year-old was a shadow of his last year's self.
The 25-year-old, who had won a record-equalling tally of four Superseries titles last year, has been impressive in the pursuit of his first title of the year in Denmark.
Srikanth became only the third Indian shuttler after his mentor Pullela Gopichand and counterpart HS Prannoy to defeat Lin Dan twice, with his latest win coming in the R16 of the ongoing tournament.
The Indian shuttler was pushed to the limits but he found his way back to pack off the Chinese great in three games.
On Friday, Srikanth was made to work even harder by compatriot Sameer Verma in an all-Indian quarter-final that extended to an hour and 18 minutes. The world number six clinched a seesaw thriller 22-20, 19-21, 23-21, displaying a lot of grit and composure.
The win over the Super Dan and the subsequent hard-fought win against Sameer should have given the Indian shuttler a lot of confidence ahead of what is seemingly a stiff test against Momota.
The Japanese shuttler, who has been almost unbeatable in the ongoing season, has an 8-3 head-to-head record against Srikanth, who has lost their last five meetings.
In 2018, Srikanth has not managed to beat Momota even once in three appearances with the latest defeat [21-9, 21-11] coming at last month's China Open.
Momota's deceptive skills and supreme defensive capabilities have troubled the best in the business, including Srikanth. The numero uno will certainly start as the favourite to reach the final but he needs to be wary of the resurgent Indian shuttler.
Denmark Open 2018: TV guide
- Malaysia: TV: Astro Supersport; Live streaming: Astro Go
- Singapore: TV: Star Hub; Live streaming: Starhub Go
- China: CCTV 5+
- Thailand: True Visions
- Denmark: TV 2 SPORT; live streaming: TV 2 Play
