BWF World Championships 2021 Preview: Where to watch, live stream details, TV schedule and more

All eyes will be on PV Sindhu when she begins her title defence at the BWF World Championships 2021 in Huelva, Spain, on December 12.

The Indian will look to capitalise on a depleted field following the withdrawals of former world champions Carolina Marin and Nozomi Okuhara. The 26-year-old has been in a rich vein of form coming into this prestigious tournament, and will look to continue her momentum in Huelva.

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Since capturing her second Olympic medal in Tokyo in August, the World No. 7 has finished as the runner-up at the BWF World Tour Finals. She has also made three semi-finals and one quarter-final in the five tournaments she has appeared in the post-Olympic period.

However, Sindhu cannot afford to be complacent. She will still face plenty of competition, especially from the likes of the sprightly An Seyoung and the experienced Akane Yamaguchi. Both of them have done well in the past few weeks.

Sindhu faces Tai Tzu Ying at the BWF World Championships.

Top seed Tai Tzu Ying, a Tokyo Olympic silver medalist, could be another major obstacle for the Indian. That is despite the fact that the Chinese Taipei ace hasn't played since the quadrennial games.

Seeded sixth, PV Sindhu will start off her campaign against world No. 72 Martina Repiska, having received a first-round bye. She'll need to get into her groove soon enough, as the ninth seed Pornpawee Chochuwong is slated to meet the Indian in the next round. The Thai has beaten Sindhu in both their meetings this year. In their most recent face-off, Chochuwong prevailed 21-12, 19-21, 21-14 at the BWF World Tour Finals earlier this month.

Sindhu's path will only get tougher from thereon, as she could run into top seed Tai Tzu Ying in the quarter-finals. Tai has been a nemesis for the five-time World Championships medalist, with the World No. 1 holding a 14-5 edge over Sindhu in their head-to-head record.

However, with Tai not having played in the last three months, there's every chance she could be rusty, so Sindhu will to take advantage of that. A win over Tai would ensure Sindhu her sixth medal at the BWF World Championships. That could be all the motivation the defending champion may need.

In her quest for a place in her fourth final at the BWF World Championships, Sindhu will need to overcome eighth seed He Bingjiao. She beat Bingjiao in the bronze medal playoff at the Tokyo Olympics earlier this summer.

An Seyoung could be a threat at the BWF World Championships.

The final could pit Sindhu against two of the most in-form players - fifth seed An Seyoung or second seed Akane Yamaguchi. While Sindhu did get the better of the Japanese in their most recent face-off, An Seyoung has continued to trouble the Indian.

The young Korean, who won a hat-trick of titles in the Indonesian swing, has beaten Sindhu both times this year. That includes the final of the BWF World Tour Finals last week as well.

Needless to say, anything short of Sindhu's flawless best may not suffice if she wants to successfully defend her title.

Kidambi Srikanth leads Indian men's singles challenge at the BWF World Championships 2021

Kidambi Srikanth in action at the Bli Bli Indonesia Open

While Sindhu is the only Indian in women's singles in the absence of Saina Nehwal, the men's singles draw has as many as four.

The last edition of the BWF World Championships saw India dazzle in men's singles. Sai Praneeth ended a long 36-year wait for a medal in that discipline. This time with Kidambi Srikanth coming back to form and Lakshya Sen making rapid strides on the circuit, there's hope for an encore.

The resurgent Srikanth, seeded 12th, will face world No.53 Pablo Abian in the opener. He'll need to be ready for the fast-rising Li Shi Feng next, with a win likely to put him face-to-face with fourth seed Chou Tien Chen in the third round.

With Srikanth having lost six of their last seven meetings, Chou Tien Chen isn't the kind of opponent the Indian would exactly enjoy seeing on the opposite side of the net.

Meanwhile, Lakshya Sen, who made a stellar run to the semi-finals of the BWF World Tour Finals on debut, has got a walkover into the second round. The 20-year-old could begin his campaign against 15th seed Kenta Nishimoto.

Meanwhile, HS Prannoy, who beat reigning Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen at the Indonesia Masters last month, will face eighth seed NG Ka Long Angus up first.

Elsewhere, 14th seed Sai Praneeth, who won a bronze medal in the last edition, will get a chance to avenge his Tokyo Olympics second-round loss to Mark Caljouw when the two face off at the BWF World Championships.

With top seed Kento Momota and the Indonesian contingent pulling out, Indian shuttlers will hope to make the most of that and leave their mark in the competition.

Satwik's fitness will be tested at the BWF World Championships

Satwik (left)'s fitness remains questionable.

In men's doubles, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy's fitness remains a notable concern. A knee niggle forced him and Chirag Shetty to withdraw ahead of their second match at the BWF World Tour Finals.

Seeded eighth at the BWF World Championships 2021, they have a first-round bye, but it remains to be seen if Rankireddy has fully recovered.

Meanwhile, Manu Attri-Sumeeth Reddy, MR Arjun-Dhruv Kapila and Arun George-Sanyam Shukla are the other Indian pairs in the men's doubles section.

In women's doubles, Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy have a walkover into the second round, where they'll face 14th seeds Liu Xuan Xuan and Xia Yu Ting. Meanwhile, Pooja Dandu and Sanjana Santosh, the other Indian pair in the draw, will take on the Dutch combine of Alyssa Tirtosentono and Imke van der Aar.

India will be represented in mixed doubles by Utkarsh Arora-Karishma Wadkar, Venkat Gaurav Prasad-Juhi Dewangan and Saurabh Sharma-Anoushka Parikh.