The Rio journey has so far been disappointing for the Indian contingent, more so for the shuttlers, with the country’s biggest medal hope, Saina Nehwal, and the experienced duo of Ashwini Ponnappa-Jwala Gutta failing to make the cut past the group stage. Kidambi Srikanth and Pusarla Sindhu continue to battle it out and have reached the quarters of their respective singles events.
There is a minor aspect, however, which can be a cause of concern for the two. Till now, all of India’s matches have been played at the Rio-2 court. However, Sindhu’s next match with Wang Yihan is scheduled to be held at a different court, the Rio-1.
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The Chinese has played two matches at the court and is well accustomed to the surface and the corresponding wind directions and speeds. Srikanth Kidambi plays Lin Dan, the two-time Olympic champion and five-time world champion, who has also played three matches at the same court. With respect to Rio-1, the wind will be a major factor, with the players being required to take the speed and direction of the breeze under account.
Saina and Gutta noted that shuttle speeds were slow in Rio-2, with the shuttle travelling dragging slower in the air. Having no experience of playing on the court, and playing a knock-out match, the players might be required to get accustomed to the conditions that come with a new court. It will be interesting to see how the two bring in the minor tweaks to their game based on the difference in the wind conditions and shuttle speeds, as the implications of the same can have a major bearing on the game’s result later on.
A large portion of the matches played on this court has ended with players winning in straight games and so going solely by that, the opening game becomes extremely important.
Sindhu will be playing at 6:55 P.M local time and would hope that the wind doesn’t play too important a role in deciding the outcome of the match.
