French Open SS 2017: Schedule of Indian contingent’s semi-finals

The top Indian shuttlers led by the Denmark Open champion Srikanth Kidambi play the semi-finals at the French Open Superseries on Saturday, October, 28, 2017.

Here is all the information you need to know:

Tournament name: Yonex French Open

Category: World Superseries

Prize money: $325, 000

Venue: Stade Pierre de Coubertin, Paris

Round: Semi-finals

Date: October 28, 2017

Time:

Men’s singles:

(8) Srikanth Kidambi vs HS Prannoy at approx. 7.15pm IST

Women’s singles:

(2) PV Sindhu vs (5) Akane Yamaguchi at approx. 7pm IST

Channel: Star Sports 1/Star Sports 1 HD

Live Streaming: hotstar.com

Preview

(8) Srikanth Kidambi (WR #4) vs HS Prannoy (WR #12)

Head-to-head: Srikanth leads 2-1

Six months after Srikanth Kidambi and Sai Praneeth contested the Singapore Open Superseries final, two Indians face each other again at a Superseries event. And the fact that this has happened both times in the men’s singles category, underlines how far the men have come this year.

No longer are they in the shadows of Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu. The Indian men are now more consistent and more confident of their abilities.

This will be the first time that two Indians will cross swords in any Superseries semi-final. One of them is of course, the indomitable Srikanth Kidambi. The man has looked more determined than ever and has already created history as the first Indian to reach four Superseries finals in a season when he conquered the Denmark Open last week.

He is now on an eight-match winning streak. That just might be the cause of a bit of tiredness, something that was evident when he was outplayed by the defending champion Shi Yuqi in the first game of the quarter-finals yesterday.

But he managed to make a remarkable comeback and made the Chinese look hapless in the decider.

That is something his Gopichand academymate HS Prannoy will want to take advantage of, should that happen again. This is Prannoy’s second Superseries semi-final of the year. It was a bitter semi-final defeat for him at the Indonesia Open where he went down having held multiple match points.

Prannoy would very much like to erase those memories. If Srikanth shows any sign of weariness and if Prannoy can keep errors at bay and play his natural aggressive game, he does have a chance.

(2) PV Sindhu (WR #2) vs (5) Akane Yamaguchi (WR #5)

Head-to-head: Sindhu leads 3-1

PV Sindhu will be hungry to prove herself after two disappointing campaigns at the Japan Open and the Denmark Open. And she could not have asked for an easier top 5 opponent than Akane Yamaguchi.

The lanky Indian has a 3-1 record over the diminutive Japanese and has won their last three encounters. She put on a brilliant show against her Denmark Open conqueror, Chen Yufei in the quarter-finals. Moving beautifully all over the court, she took control of the forecourt early and never let the Chinese settle into the match.

That must have boosted her confidence by notches and she would like to continue that same kind of play to keep her winning streak going.