Nanjing (China): Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu will look to break the jinx of losing major finals and better the colour of her medal when she spearheads the Indian challenge at the prestigious World Championship, starting here Monday.
With two bronze medals in 2013 and 2014 and a silver last year, Sindhu has an impressive record at the World Championship. Her epic final against Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara at Glasgow last year went down as one of the greatest matches of all time, clocking 110 minutes. The Indian will hope her love affair continues at Nanjing.
The 23-year-old from Hyderabad has been very consistent with six final appearances last year, out of which she won India Open, Korea Open and Syed Modi International but she lost the finals at Worlds, Dubai Super Series and Hong Kong.
I really want to do well in the World Championship. I have been preparing well. It is going to be a tough draw in the World Championship, so I can’t relax
PV Sindhu
This season too Sindhu entered summit clashes at India Open, Commonwealth Games and the Thailand Open but a title has eluded her and she would like to improve her win-loss statistic in major finals.
Two-time Commonwealth Games champion Saina Nehwal also bagged a silver and a bronze in 2015 and 2017 respectively and she would hope to shrug off her indifferent recent form and go full throttle, looking for a medal.
In the men’s singles, Kidambi Srikanth, who clinched four titles last season and a silver at the Commonwealth Games this year, will too look to realise his long-term dream of winning a medal when he opens against Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen. He is likely to meet Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie, 13th seed, in round three.