India managed to scrape through to the quarter-finals of the Sudirman Cup from a tough group, which included Denmark and Indonesia. But, they have an even more difficult task if they are to progress further as PV Sindhu-led India will face China in the quarter-finals of the competition.
Can it get any tougher than this? No.
China are one of the giants of world badminton, and when it comes to Sudirman Cup, there is no team that has dominated the competition like ten-time champions China.
India are aware of the task, and should not think about the semi-finals too much, and just enjoy the game. They should play pressure free badminton, which could see Indian shuttlers put up a stunning performance, and may be even stun China.
Sindhu and the rest of the players will come into this match confident after their impressive outing against Indonesia, where they were considered second favourites. They shocked Indonesia, and they will have that self-belief to beat China as well.
If India scraped through to the quarters, China stormed and grabbed their last eight spot, with comprehensive wins over Thailand and Hong Kong. They have all the ammunitions with Chen Long and Sun Yu being their star singles players while their players in the doubles contest are also top-class.
Hence, India will need to strive for consistency in all the five ties against China. India's best bet might lie on singles with Sindhu (women) and Kidambi Srikanth (men), but China have Sun and Long, who are two of the best shuttlers in the world.
India might be second favourite for the quarter-finals contest, but anything is possible and if lady luck smiles, Sindhu and the team might well reach the semi-finals.
Where to watch live
India vs China Sudirman Cup 2017 quarter-finals is scheduled to start from 7.30 am IST. India viewers can watch the match live on Star Sports 2/HD with live streaming on Hotstar
