Can Saina Nehwal conquer the stiffest obstacle in front of her? Will P V Sindhu turn her promise into performance? Can Kidambi Srikanth cause an upset or two?
When the Olympic Games badminton tournament begins on Thursday at the Riocentro Pavilion, there are no easy answers to the questions that abound the Indian fans' minds.
Optimism is never in short supply when it comes to India but this time, it is tinged with apprehension. The tricky draw that was handed out to the main singles players makes medal prediction a hazardous one.
Saina was handed out easy group rivals - Maria Ulitina of Ukraine and Vicente Lohaynny of Brazil are not players that the Indian fifth seed would lose sleep over. Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand is her expected pre-quarterfinal opponent but thereafter looms the figure of Li Xuerui, China's defending champion.
The Indian, the bronze medallist at London four years ago, has been putting in the hard yards on the training court. The former world number one is in good form and she would need all her determination to move past Xuerui - against whom the Indian has a 2-12 record - and then target a medal. Her first group game is against Lohaynny on Thursday at 7.50 pm IST.
Like Saina, Sindhu too has been hard at work to make her Olympic debut a memorable one. She does have a pesky rival in group stage - Canada's Michelle Li, who had beaten the Indian in a hard-fought contest at the Commonwealth Games.
Past the group stage, it gets harder for Sindhu, with the likes of Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying and China's Wang Yihan, the London silver medallist, blocking her path. Sindhu's first game is against Laura Sarosi of Hungary on Thursday at 6.40 pm IST.
Srikanth, whose biggest win to date has the one over Lin Dan at the China Open in 2014, can meet the big gun again. But for that, he has to get past another difficult opponent, Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark. Simply put, medals won't be handed out on a platter to India's top two women shuttlers and the top man. Expectations would be pegged at a lower level when it comes to the doubles pair - Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa in the women's section and Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy in the men's. Jwala and Ashwini can cause a flutter and a medal from them will be a welcome surprise.
The women's doubles pair faces Japan's Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi at 4.00 pm IST while Attri and Reddy play Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia first up at 5.00 pm IST. Srikanth will be the last to take the court, playing Lino Munoz of Mexico at 5.30 am on Friday.
![]( "main hope Saina Nehwal wil have her task cut out as she sets her eyes on winning a medal at the Rio Olympics.")
Can Saina Nehwal conquer the stiffest obstacle in front of her? Will P V Sindhu turn her promise into performance? Can Kidambi Srikanth cause an upset or two?
When the Olympic Games badminton tournament begins on Thursday at the Riocentro Pavilion, there are no easy answers to the questions that abound the Indian fans’ minds.
Optimism is never in short supply when it comes to India but this time, it is tinged with apprehension. The tricky draw that was handed out to the main singles players makes medal prediction a hazardous one.
Saina was handed out easy group rivals - Maria Ulitina of Ukraine and Vicente Lohaynny of Brazil are not players that the Indian fifth seed would lose sleep over. Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand is her expected pre-quarterfinal opponent but thereafter looms the figure of Li Xuerui, China’s defending champion.
The Indian, the bronze medallist at London four years ago, has been putting in the hard yards on the training court. The former world number one is in good form and she would need all her determination to move past Xuerui - against whom the Indian has a 2-12 record - and then target a medal. Her first group game is against Lohaynny on Thursday at 7.50 pm IST.
Like Saina, Sindhu too has been hard at work to make her Olympic debut a memorable one. She does have a pesky rival in group stage - Canada’s Michelle Li, who had beaten the Indian in a hard-fought contest at the Commonwealth Games.
Past the group stage, it gets harder for Sindhu, with the likes of Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu Ying and China’s Wang Yihan, the London silver medallist, blocking her path. Sindhu’s first game is against Laura Sarosi of Hungary on Thursday at 6.40 pm IST.
Srikanth, whose biggest win to date has the one over Lin Dan at the China Open in 2014, can meet the big gun again. But for that, he has to get past another difficult opponent, Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark. Simply put, medals won’t be handed out on a platter to India’s top two women shuttlers and the top man. Expectations would be pegged at a lower level when it comes to the doubles pair - Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa in the women’s section and Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy in the men’s. Jwala and Ashwini can cause a flutter and a medal from them will be a welcome surprise.
The women’s doubles pair faces Japan’s Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi at 4.00 pm IST while Attri and Reddy play Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia first up at 5.00 pm IST. Srikanth will be the last to take the court, playing Lino Munoz of Mexico at 5.30 am on Friday.
When the Olympic Games badminton tournament begins on Thursday at the Riocentro Pavilion, there are no easy answers to the questions that abound the Indian fans' minds.
Optimism is never in short supply when it comes to India but this time, it is tinged with apprehension. The tricky draw that was handed out to the main singles players makes medal prediction a hazardous one.
Saina was handed out easy group rivals - Maria Ulitina of Ukraine and Vicente Lohaynny of Brazil are not players that the Indian fifth seed would lose sleep over. Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand is her expected pre-quarterfinal opponent but thereafter looms the figure of Li Xuerui, China's defending champion.
The Indian, the bronze medallist at London four years ago, has been putting in the hard yards on the training court. The former world number one is in good form and she would need all her determination to move past Xuerui - against whom the Indian has a 2-12 record - and then target a medal. Her first group game is against Lohaynny on Thursday at 7.50 pm IST.
Like Saina, Sindhu too has been hard at work to make her Olympic debut a memorable one. She does have a pesky rival in group stage - Canada's Michelle Li, who had beaten the Indian in a hard-fought contest at the Commonwealth Games.
Past the group stage, it gets harder for Sindhu, with the likes of Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying and China's Wang Yihan, the London silver medallist, blocking her path. Sindhu's first game is against Laura Sarosi of Hungary on Thursday at 6.40 pm IST.
Srikanth, whose biggest win to date has the one over Lin Dan at the China Open in 2014, can meet the big gun again. But for that, he has to get past another difficult opponent, Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark. Simply put, medals won't be handed out on a platter to India's top two women shuttlers and the top man. Expectations would be pegged at a lower level when it comes to the doubles pair - Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa in the women's section and Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy in the men's. Jwala and Ashwini can cause a flutter and a medal from them will be a welcome surprise.
The women's doubles pair faces Japan's Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi at 4.00 pm IST while Attri and Reddy play Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia first up at 5.00 pm IST. Srikanth will be the last to take the court, playing Lino Munoz of Mexico at 5.30 am on Friday.
Can Saina Nehwal conquer the stiffest obstacle in front of her? Will P V Sindhu turn her promise into performance? Can Kidambi Srikanth cause an upset or two?When the Olympic Games badminton tournament begins on Thursday at the Riocentro Pavilion, there are no easy answers to the questions that abound the Indian fans’ minds.
Optimism is never in short supply when it comes to India but this time, it is tinged with apprehension. The tricky draw that was handed out to the main singles players makes medal prediction a hazardous one.
Saina was handed out easy group rivals - Maria Ulitina of Ukraine and Vicente Lohaynny of Brazil are not players that the Indian fifth seed would lose sleep over. Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand is her expected pre-quarterfinal opponent but thereafter looms the figure of Li Xuerui, China’s defending champion.
The Indian, the bronze medallist at London four years ago, has been putting in the hard yards on the training court. The former world number one is in good form and she would need all her determination to move past Xuerui - against whom the Indian has a 2-12 record - and then target a medal. Her first group game is against Lohaynny on Thursday at 7.50 pm IST.
Like Saina, Sindhu too has been hard at work to make her Olympic debut a memorable one. She does have a pesky rival in group stage - Canada’s Michelle Li, who had beaten the Indian in a hard-fought contest at the Commonwealth Games.
Past the group stage, it gets harder for Sindhu, with the likes of Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu Ying and China’s Wang Yihan, the London silver medallist, blocking her path. Sindhu’s first game is against Laura Sarosi of Hungary on Thursday at 6.40 pm IST.
Srikanth, whose biggest win to date has the one over Lin Dan at the China Open in 2014, can meet the big gun again. But for that, he has to get past another difficult opponent, Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark. Simply put, medals won’t be handed out on a platter to India’s top two women shuttlers and the top man. Expectations would be pegged at a lower level when it comes to the doubles pair - Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa in the women’s section and Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy in the men’s. Jwala and Ashwini can cause a flutter and a medal from them will be a welcome surprise.
The women’s doubles pair faces Japan’s Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi at 4.00 pm IST while Attri and Reddy play Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia first up at 5.00 pm IST. Srikanth will be the last to take the court, playing Lino Munoz of Mexico at 5.30 am on Friday.