PV Sindhu likely to face Akane Yamaguchi in All England Championships quarters; 7 Indians in men’s singles draw

PV Sindhu is likely to clash with Akane Yamaguchi in the quarter-finals of the 2022 All England Championships to be held from March 16 to 20 in Birmingham, England. World No. 7 Sindhu is clubbed in the same quarter as singles world champion Akane Yamaguchi. The much-awaited 2022 All England Championships draw was announced on Wednesday.

The only other Indian in the women’s singles draw apart from Sindhu is Saina Nehwal. Both Sindhu and Saina are in the bottom half of the 32-player main draw in Birmingham.

Double Olympic medalist Sindhu beat Yamaguchi the last time the two clashed at the All England Championships. The 26-year-old will look to replicate that result if the two face each other again in the competition.

---

PV Sindhu to open All England campaign against Wang Zhi Yi of China

PV Sindhu will open her All England campaign against world No. 17 Wang Zhi Yi of China.

The sixth-seeded Indian is slated to meet the winner of Sayaka Takahashi and Supanida Katethong in the second round. Sindhu, who has not won a medal so far at the All England Championships, is likely to meet second seed Akane Yamaguchi in the quarters.

Saina Nehwal, who is also in the bottom half of the draw, will play Pornpawee Chochuwong in the first round. The world no. 25 Indian will face a tough opponent who has been enjoying a dominating run recently. If she clears the first round, the 31-year-old Nehwal could run into Akane Yamaguchi in the second.

---

Five Indian men’s singles players in top half of All England draw

For the first time in the All England Badminton Championships history, as many as five Indian men’s singles players are in the top half of the draw.

B Sai Praneeth, who represented India at the Tokyo Olympics last year, will take on top seed Viktor Axelsen in the first round. The Danish world no.1 has been in top form this season.

Meanwhile, Sameer Verma will lock horns with world no. 25 Mark Caljouw of the Netherlands. The 26th-ranked Indian will look to regain his mojo by doing well in the tournament.

Meanwhile, experienced campaigner Parupalli Kashyap will square off against fifth seed Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia. It will be a herculean task for Kashyap to get the better of Ginting, who is ranked fifth in the world.

Elsewhere, World Championships silver medalist Kidambi Srikanth will face Kantaphon Wangcharoen, while HS Prannoy will meet Kunlavut Vitidsarn. In an all-India first-round clash, Lakshya Sen will face Sourabh Verma. The World Championship bronze medalist has a psychological advantage against Verma, having beaten him recently.

The winner of this match is slated to face reigning world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore and third seed Anders Antonsen of Denmark.

---

Three Indian men’s doubles pairs in main draw

Fifth seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will meet Alexander Dunn and Adam Hall in the men’s doubles first round.

Krishna Prasad Garaga and Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala will take on Mark Lamfuss and Marvin Seidel. The young and talented pair of MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila will square off against second seeds Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia.

The top-seeded Indonesian duo of Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and Marcus Fernaldi Gideon will have to get past Choi Solgyu and Seo Seungjae.

---

Only two Indian pairs in women’s doubles and mixed doubles

There are only two Indian combinations in the women’s and mixed doubles. Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy will face Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi in the opening round. Meanwhile, the young Indian pair of Srivedya Gurazada and Ishika Jaiswal will clash with Rachel Honderich and Kristen Tsai.

Elsewhere, the veteran mixed doubles pair of Venkat Gaurav Prasad and Juhi Dewangan will face Hoo Pang Ron and Cheah Yee See.

Fast-improving mixed doubles combination Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto will have a tough first round. The mixed doubles champions at the Syed Modi BWF World Tour Super 300 tournament in Lucknow last month will lock horns with fifth seeds Praveen Jordan and Melati Daeva Oktavianti.

Thailand’s Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai, currently ranked the best in the world, are the top seeds in the mixed doubles draw.