French Open SS 2017: Schedule of Indian contingent's second round matches

Following a largely successful first round showing at the French Open, the talented group of Indian shuttlers now turn their attention to Round 2 of the tournament where all eyes are on the recently crowned Denmark Open champion, Kidambi Srikanth. His historic win just days before making it to France for this tournament, highlights the enormous improvement in Indian badminton in recent times. But, as far as the French Open itself is concerned, here is all that you need to know about the next big tournament to keep your eyes on:

Tournament name: Yonex French Open

Venue: Stade Pierre de Coubertin, Paris

Round: Two

Prize Money: $325,000

Date: 26 October, 2017

Time:

Men's Singles:

Kidambi Srikanth (8) vs. Wong Wing Ki Vincent at 18:25 local time i.e. 21:55 IST

Sai Praneeth B. vs. Kenta Nishimoto at 19:50 local time i.e. 23:20 IST

H.S. Prannoy vs. Hans-Kristian Solberg Vittinghus at 21:30 local time i.e. 01:00 IST

Women's Singles:

Saina Nehwal vs. Akane Yamaguchi (5) at 15:40 local time i.e. 19:10 IST

P.V. Sindhu (2) vs. Sayaka Takahashi at 18:10 local time i.e. 21:40 IST

Women's Doubles:

Ashwini Ponappa & N. Sikki Reddy vs. Misaki Matsutomo & Ayaka Takahashi at 17:20 local time i.e. 20:50 IST

Men's Doubles:

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty vs. Mads Conrad-Peterson & Mads Pieler Kolding at 18:25 local time i.e. 21:55 IST

With Srikanth's win in the Denmark Open, there is undoubtedly the weight of the nation on his shoulders as he gets ready for round two of the French Open, but the likes of Saina Nehwal, P.V. Sindhu and even Sai Praneeth will all be hoping to make their mark and return to their best form as they take on tough opponents in the competition. India's men's and women's doubles teams look strong too and it could be a matter of time before the young guns come out all guns blazing.

Preview

Saina Nehwal vs. Akane Yamaguchi (5)

Head-to-head: Yamaguchi leads 2-1

One of the big matches of the day undoubtedly has to be Saina Nehwal taking on Akane Yamaguchi of Japan. Her momentum from the first round would hold Saina in good stead as she takes on the number five seed but recent history shows us that the Japanese shuttler has the upper hand, beating Nehwal in the quarters of the Denmark Open.

Her eventual defeat in the final at the event would be the driving force behind Yamaguchi's will to win big in France. As for Saina, she will be looking to avenge her recent defeat and show the world that there's still plenty left in the tank.