Xiamen: Faced with a herculean task to trump a formidable Indonesia and stay afloat in the competition, an under-strength India will need its struggling singles stars to deliver the goods in a must-win Group D contest at the BWF Sudirman Cup Finals here on Tuesday.
India’s campaign began on a disastrous start on Sunday with a 1-4 defeat to Denmark, a result that put their qualification for the knockout stage in serious jeopardy.
With only two teams progressing from Group D, India must secure a win against Indonesia to keep their hopes alive otherwise, their third and final group match against England will be reduced to just a formality. The poor form of their star singles players — Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, and PV Sindhu has not helped the team.
However, there is some hope for India. Lakshya has defeated Indonesia’s top men’s singles player Jonatan Christie in their last two encounters — at the Paris Olympics and the All England Championships.
In the women’s singles, with Indonesia’s top player Gregoria Mariska Tunjung pulling out, Sindhu will face world No. 11 Putri Kusuma Wardani, a player she has beaten twice before. Despite this, Indonesia boast a strong contingent of doubles players, including Fajar Alfian, Muhammad Rian Ardianto, Leo Rolly Carnando, Muhammad Shohibul Fikri, and Daniel Marthin — all ranked among the
world’s top-10.