2.10 am: First match of the day on quarterfinal day is reigning World Champion PV Sindhu vs world No 1 Tai Tzu Ying seeking her first ever world championships medal. 2.30 pm IST. That will be followed by Srikanth vs Caljouw. Prannoy vs red-hot Loh Kean Yew is the 8th match of the day. These are on Court 1. On Court 2, Lakshya Sen’s will be the third match (opponent TBD).

And then there were four: 12 hours and a bit after Sindhu began her path to the quarterfinals, India have three men’s singles players joining her in the last 8. Srikanth, Lakshya and Prannoy in the men’s singles quarterfinals. Epic finish.

Men’s singles, [11] Rasmus Gemke 21-16, 8-21, 20-22 HS Prannoy: Here’s how the third game panned out. Terrific late fightback from Gemke but Prannoy inched ahead when it mattered.

(Also correction earlier, there is still one more quarterfinalist to be decided in men’s singles between Nhat Nguyen and Zhao Jun Peng, the winner facing Lakshya Sen)

Men’s singles, [11] Rasmus Gemke 21-16, 8-21, 20-22 HS Prannoy: HAS DONE IT! What a thriller. He converts a third match point and, the football fan that he is, celebrates in football style! Set up by that trusted smash is, Gemke couldn’t return it back this time. He played his part in this match too. Amazing comeback from him in the decider by HSP held his nerve.

Men’s singles, [11] Rasmus Gemke 21-16, 8-21, 20-20 HS Prannoy: What a rally. Gemke with a really good point on the attack and HSP sends the shuttle long at the end with a superb leave. And then Gemke with all the pressure at the net, saves both match points.

Men’s singles, [11] Rasmus Gemke 21-16, 8-21, 18-20 HS Prannoy: Two match points HSP with a lovely downward shot!

Men’s singles, [11] Rasmus Gemke 21-16, 8-21, 18-19 HS Prannoy: Good play at the net from HSP and Gemke is too close to the net to lift it, sends it wide. Roar from HSP again. But Gemke gets the next point, great judgement at the back.

Men’s singles, [11] Rasmus Gemke 21-16, 8-21, 17-18 HS Prannoy: Compelling badminton this! Prannoy staying ahead but very little margin for error now, Gemke has stormed back into the decider. Quiet fist bumps after a good rally by HSP. And then he makes a service error, geez. NERVES. Gemke with a massive jump smash to make it a 1-point game.

Men’s singles, [11] Rasmus Gemke 21-16, 8-21, 15-17 HS Prannoy: Misjudgement from HSP and there is just a 2-point gap now. And then a super exchange at the net from both players, HSP attacking and Gemke defending. Goes the way of the Indian. Next point to the Dane. This is a serious battle now!

Men’s singles, [11] Rasmus Gemke 21-16, 8-21, 11-16 HS Prannoy: SUPERB RALLY! Terrific pace from both players, following each other well. HSP sets up the point with a straight smash and follows up at the net to kill it.

Men’s singles, [11] Rasmus Gemke 21-16, 8-21, 11-15 HS Prannoy: Biggest roar of the night from Prannoy so far and he really wanted to stop that run for Gemke. Kills another point, roars again. Just asserting his control here.

Men’s singles, [11] Rasmus Gemke 21-16, 8-21, 10-13 HS Prannoy: Just a hint of resurgence for Gemke after HSP started well after the change of ends. The Dane is closing the gap down as HSP loses a challenge.

Men’s singles, [11] Rasmus Gemke 21-16, 8-21, 7-11 HS Prannoy: The Indian is leading 11-7 at the final change of ends. What a a turnaround. Still needs to close this out but he looks in control... and moves to the favoured side of court.

Men’s singles, [11] Rasmus Gemke 21-16, 8-21, 6-10 HS Prannoy: The Indian chose the far end to start presumably to finish on his good side and he will be loving this lead. Playing with a terrific tempo at the moment. But just as we say that, a couple of points for Gemke and he closes the gap down to 4.

Men’s singles, [11] Rasmus Gemke 21-16, 8-21, 4-9 HS Prannoy: Dominant second game for HS Prannoy, forces the decider in some style. Started brilliantly, stayed in control throughout. In the third game too the Indian has started really well

Women’s singles: Incredible. Just incredible. She looked in trouble for such large parts of this match. But somehow An Seyoung scraps through to a three-game win. Look at the graph of the decider! Struggled with a finger injury but pulled through. Five straight points from 16-19 down.

Men’s singles, Kevin Cordon 13-21, 8-21 Lakshya Sen: SEN into the QF! A comprehensive win for the youngster against Guatemala’s Olympic hero Kevin Cordon. Wins 21-13, 21-8 in 32 mins.

Men’s singles, Kevin Cordon 13-21, 8-20 Lakshya Sen:Match points galore (scores corrected here)

Men’s singles, [11] Rasmus Gemke 21-16, 6-16 HS Prannoy: Prannoy not letting the intensity drop. Doesn’t want to give Gemke momentum perhaps before the imminent decider.

An Seyoung is trailing 16-19! Wang is pumped. Wow.

Women’s singles: WHAT A RALLY! No count but with the game slipping away from her at 14-17, ASY wins a stunning point to give herself a lifeline. 15-17.

Men’s singles, Kevin Cordon 13-21, 5-11 Lakshya Sen: The Indians is going on track to finish this in straight games.

Men’s singles, [11] Rasmus Gemke 21-16, 3-11 HS Prannoy: HSP needs a change in shoes, seems to have sent his coach to fetch it for him and at the mid-game interval he can’t quite enough time to do it. Umpire asks him to play a point and then he goes to change. Heh, one of those interesting phases of play.

Men’s singles, [11] Rasmus Gemke 21-16, 0-8 HS Prannoy: Change of ends, change of fortunes so far for HSP. Remember he chose to start at the far end, so he will finishing from this side if we go the distance.

Men’s singles, Kevin Cordon 21-13 Lakshya Sen: Solid from Lakshya Sen. Takes the opening game 21-13 against Kevin Cordon without too much trouble evidently.
Meanwhile, Prannoy has a 5-0 lead at the start of the second game while An Seyoung leads 11-10 in the final change of ends in her match.

Men’s singles, Kevin Cordon 19-13 Lakshya Sen: The Indian keeping this in control.

Men’s singles, [11] Rasmus Gemke 21-16 HS Prannoy: Gemke takes the opening game with a straight smash at the end of a nice rally. It was a close enough first half but Gemke put together a brilliant run of points in the middle. Prannoy fought back in the end, wasn’t quite enough.

Men’s singles, [11] Rasmus Gemke 20-16 HS Prannoy: Six game points for Gemke, HSP saves two for now. Not a bad phase this for the Indian but the damage was done a while back.

Men’s singles, Kevin Cordon 11-6 Lakshya Sen: Lakshya Sen went racing off the blocks with 8 straight points at one stage, Kevin came back a bit. But Sen still leads 11-6 in the mid-game interval.

Men’s singles, [11] Rasmus Gemke 18-11 HS Prannoy: Flurry of five straight points for Gemke. Make it six, as he makes a superb challenge too. All going his way.

Men’s singles, Kevin Cordon 9-6 Lakshya Sen: A good start for the Indian youngster, up 9-3 after 8 straight points. Cordon closes the gap down

Men’s singles, [11] Rasmus Gemke 14-11 HS Prannoy: Gemke’s superb defence is keeping him in the lead. Prannoy trying to force the pace when he can but he is just reacting at the moment.

And An Seyoung has forced a decider. Trailed in this game as well but produces a superb turnaround in a match filled with terrific rallies to make sure this is going to distance.

On Court 2: AN Seyoung had game points to force a decider after a superb comeback but those have been erased now and we are 20-20.

On Court 3: Lakshya leads 4-3 against Cordon.

Men’s singles, [11] Rasmus Gemke 11-9 HS Prannoy: On a missed smash from HSP, Gemke goes into the break on a two-point lead. The Indian has not played badly, but a bit erratic so far. Seems to be still figuring out what Plan A is.

Men’s singles, [11] Rasmus Gemke 9-9 HS Prannoy: HSP is pumped up after a good run brings him level. Plays a stunning 360 degree defensive shot next but couldn’t win the rally. Lucky net chord next and we are level again.

Kevin Cordon vs Lakshya Sen about to start. Sen’s match will be against the fairy tale hero of Tokyo 2020 Kevin Cordon from Guatemala. They have not previously met. It will be on Court 3, so no telecast. Just score updates.

Men’s singles, [11] Rasmus Gemke 7-5 HS Prannoy: HSP trying to stay patient and engage Gemke in longer rallies, probably testing out his fitness. Gemke doing alright, wins a couple of points with good lifts. Prannoy yet to find his rhythm but ups the tempo next couple of rallies and closes the gap.

Men’s singles, [11] Rasmus Gemke 4-2 HS Prannoy: Good couple of points for HSP after two errors to start. Gemke, with a heavily strapped knee, is just flexing it a bit. He has had injury troubles recently, had to pull out of the World Tour Finals. But moving better after that.

Men’s singles, [11] Rasmus Gemke vs HS Prannoy: Loh Kean Yew (in tremendous form) awaits the winner. Here we go. HSP chose side, starting from the far end.

Men’s singles, [11] Rasmus Gemke vs HS Prannoy: Prannoy, after two impressive wins against 8th seed Angus and former top 10 Liew, faces another tough test against the 11th seed Rasmus Gemke. The talented Dane has a 2-0 record against Prannoy, with both meetings happening in 2019. That match is later on Court 1 in the second session.

HS Prannoy time.

Women’s singles: Well, it looked like it was going to be a complete rout at one stage but ASY recovers decently to close the gap down and find some momentum for the second game and perhaps beyond.

Men’s singles: Wow. From 5-6 to 15-6, Lee Zii Jia has stormed ahead in the decider.

Women’s singles: Well, well. An seyoung, with strapping on her right leg, is trailing 5-11. Errors galore from the Korean, who is known for her superb basic play.

Men’s singles: The wait continues for Prannoy and Gemke as Vittinghus forces the decider!

Men’s singles: Anders Antonsen cruises through as well. Awaits the winner of LZJ vs HK Vittinghus. A video of an outrageous winner coming up...

Women’s singles: Akane Yamaguchi safely through to the quarterfinals as well where it could be a potential blockbuster against An Seyoung.

11.11 pm: 35-year-young HK Vittinghus takes on All England champ Lee Zii Jia, who has been a bit scratchy in this tournament so far. HS Prannoy vs. Rasmus Gemke after this. On Court 3, Akane Yamaguchi has taken the first game against her compatriot Sayaka Takahashi. Antonsen meanwhile is facing Lee CY and is leading 8-4. An Seyoung is still to come on Court 2. On Court 3, Lakshya Sen will be action a couple of matches later...

Lee Zii Jia vs HK Vittinghus to follow... then HS Prannoy and Rasmus Gemke.

That was.... extraordinary. Honestly, nothing else to say. If anyone was wondering about the Axelsen scoreline, then this performance reiterates how good LKY has been. Not sure we have quite understood what just happened. Since dropping the first game against Axelsen 14-21, Loh Kean Yew has gone 21-9, 21-6 (vs VA), 21-4, 21-8, 21-4, 21-7 this week.

Morten Frost: “I am lost for words. Honestly, I am just lost for words”

Gill Clark: “I don’t think I have witnessed anything like this before, total and utter dominance”

Loh Kean Yew is going to win the whole thing isn’t he? Get a strong feeling he is going the distance. That ridiculous scoreline to defeat Axelsen just felt like the start of something special. He is flying.

Axelsen conqueror Loh Kean Yew up next on Court 1. Takes on 16th seed and bronze medallist from 2019 Wangchaoren. This could be good too. (Prannoy match is two matches away after this).

Watching women’s doubles badminton should count as daily cardio. What a match this is.

Prannoy and Lakshya’s matches are still to come. Stay tuned.

Srikanth’s reaction after a clinical win today:

Thoughts about the match: I am happy to win the game. The lead I got in the first set, that made a huge difference I feel. When I led 11-4, I felt very confident after that. I just tried to stay positive through the match and it really worked. 

On improvements from his game: I will definitely go back and talk to my coach, ask him what areas I should work on. HE will be the right person to tell me. When I win a match I don’t see too many negatives, coaches are the ones who will see that after a win. It is really important to talk to them and that’s what I will do. 

Thoughts on Lu: He’s been playing really well. He won some very good matches here. Also quite young. You can’t really underestimate Chinese shutters at any time. Just happy with the way I played today. 

On reaching quarterfinals: I am happy to be in the quarterfinals yes, but frankly... I really want to go further. Much further ahead in the tournament. I’ll just try and take it one match at a time. 

Thoughts on his level ahead of the next match: I don’t really know [how close I am to my best level]. I have been playing tournaments last three months without any practice. I will just try and play, win another match. 

On reaching late and entering the arena for the first time ahead of his opening round: It’s been an adventure because I got my visa very late that is why I couldn’t arrive earlier. Back home people at the badminton association, government have worked hard to help me get the visa. I am just happy to be winning some matches here. I am sure they will all be very happy if I win a medal. 

— (via BWF Mixed Zone)
Srikanth's quotes coming up

Men’s singles, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 21-10, 21-15 Lu Guang Zu: That was rather delightful. Srikanth produces a thoroughly enjoyable performance (net game on fire) to reach the QF. Faces All England semifinalist Mark Caljouw (who defeated Sai Praneeth in the first round) next with winner earning a medal. Former world No 1 Morten Frost was certainly impressed on air.

Here’s how the second game panned out.

Men’s singles, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 21-10, 21-15 Lu Guang Zu: SRIKANTH INTO THE QF! Terrific from the former world No 1. This match was not supposed to be this easy... but the Indian controlled large parts of it and cruises into the last eight. Big roar at the end.

Men’s singles, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 21-10, 20-15 Lu Guang Zu: Proactive at the net again, Srikanth has 5 match points.

Men’s singles, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 21-10, 19-15 Lu Guang Zu: With Srikanth two points away, Lu produces a lovely smash down the line. Gets the serve back. Srikanth sends a lift long. Late twist?

Men’s singles, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 21-10, 18-13 Lu Guang Zu: Srikanth’s follow-ups have been really on point so far, when he is in an attacking position, he has reacted quickly. Signs of a player mentally sharp.

Men’s singles, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 21-10, 16-12 Lu Guang Zu: SUPERB RALLY! And a crucial one for the match too, you’d think. Both players moving each other to four corners, but Sri sets up a kill with a smash to the backhand and pounces at the net.

Men’s singles, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 21-10, 15-12 Lu Guang Zu: Srikanth is celebrating a lift being called in, but Lu challenges. He is right. The gap closes.

Men’s singles, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 21-10, 15-11 Lu Guang Zu: Two sharp points from Lu and he needed those as Srikanth was pulling away.

I had expected this match to be a lot more tighter, Srikanth has played really well and this has been one-sided so far: Morten Frost on air

Men’s singles, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 21-10, 15-9 Lu Guang Zu: Sri restarts after the break as he ended, with a nice straight smash. Can he close this out in straight games with Lu clearly improving? Looking good the Indian, pulling ahead again.

Men’s singles, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 21-10, 11-8 Lu Guang Zu: An error at the net from Lu and Sri inches ahead again. He follows that up with a powerful straight smash down the line to Lu’s forehand. Into the lead at the mid-game interval.

Men’s singles, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 21-10, 8-7 Lu Guang Zu: Sri plays another solid point by drawing Lu to the net repeatedly. That seems to be his Plan A. But the attacking shots are not consistent at this point. Park sensing his ward needs a push here.

Men’s singles, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 21-10, 7-6 Lu Guang Zu: The Chinese is trying to ride on some adrenaline here. Sri is missing the lines from the near side as Lu was in the opener.

Men’s singles, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 21-10, 6-4 Lu Guang Zu: One wouldn’t expect the 2nd game to be as straightforward as the first was. Lu is bound to have a response. Sri misses a smash and then next point, plays a solid rally to get the serve back and stay just ahead.

Men’s singles, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 21-10 Lu Guang Zu: Morten Frost, on commentary, says Srikanth has looked better and better with every tournament in the last months. And as he speaks about that, Srikanth has played a couple of solid points and converts the game point right away with a straight smash.

Men’s singles, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 18-9 Lu Guang Zu: Lu gets a couple of points and Sri responds with a delightfully delicate spinning net shot that dangles over the chord and falls in. The Indian opens up a good lead again after that.

Men’s singles, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 15-7 Lu Guang Zu: Oh you don’t see this often. Great defensive work Sri, patiently (diving and all) getting the shuttle back. Forces the error from Lu.

Men’s singles, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 13-7 Lu Guang Zu: Srikanth doesn’t challenge a lift that has actually landed in but gets the serve back with a nice crosscourt smash.

Men’s singles, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 11-4 Lu Guang Zu: Solid, solid start from Srikanth. Playing some controlled badminton, getting his lengths right at both ends of the court.

Men’s singles, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 10-4 Lu Guang Zu: Sri constructing points well, pushing Lu to the back and drawing him forward... a lovely smash to kill the point followed by a perfect lift.

Mark Caljouw awaits the winner of this match.

Men’s singles, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 7-4 Lu Guang Zu: The Indian is moving well in the early exchanges. Nice little start this... as we say that he misjudges at the back court. Next point, an absolutely delicious net shot from Sri who has coach Park behind him.

Men’s singles, [12] Srikanth Kidambi 3-2 Lu Guang Zu: Srikanth is a attacking player by nature whereas Lu, as most Chinese shuttlers are, is a proper allrounder. The challenge for Srikanth would be to avoid giving easy points and force errors as much as possible. Lu came through a tough match against CTC and was pumped up in the decider, he has started in a similar fashion here, body language wise.

Men’s singles, [12] Srikanth Kidambi vs Lu Guang Zu: Srikanth has been in good recent form. He defeated another highly-rated Chinese player in the previous round. Can he keep his quest for a first Worlds medal going? Srikanth to serve, we are all set.

Men’s singles, [12] Srikanth Kidambi vs Lu Guang Zu: Srikanth Kidambi is now a marked man in the top half of the men’s singles draw where he is the only seeded player remaining. He takes on another unseeded Chinese player, after defeating Li Shi Feng in the previous round in a three-game thriller. Lu Guang Zu won’t be an easy opponent by any stretch of imagination as the highly-rated 25-year-old has already defeated Kunlavut Vitidsarn and fourth seed Chou Tien Chen. Srikanth has won their only previous meeting, at the India Open in 2019.

A thriller in XD... and now time for Srikanth vs Lu.

Coming up next: At mid-point of the decider in the XD game... not long left for Srikanth vs Lu Guang Zu.

Coming up next: Srikanth on court 1 after this XD match.

Kirsty Gilmour on playing Tai Tzu Ying: “She plays a high risk-high reward game & you have to do that too. You can’t play safe, she will make you pay. The tactics I managed to execute, happy with that. She makes life bloody difficult for you, happy I pushed her far”

Satwik and Chirag react to the defeat (via BWF mixed zone):

Chirag: Well, initially we played quite well in the first game. Unfortunately at 20-18 we couldn’t convert it and lost 20-22. Second game we got back well. The third game we started very slow and by the end of it we were just catching up. If we would have started the decider better, then we had a chance. 

Satwik: It was a good game, a tough game. We have played with them in Bali as well. We know their game, they know ours. It was like, attack [us] versus defence [them]. But the way we played in the first game was really good, if we had won that then maybe second game we could have gone full on. That was our plan. At 20-18 I got a false serve. I never try to serve a flat serve but at that point in my mind, I thought will try and maybe the opponents won’t be ready. Maybe I should have done small serve. Second game we played pretty well, point to point, and crucial time we got good points. And third game, we started slow and were catching up, catching up. Never in the game in the second half, should have played better in the first half.

Chirag: 2021 was a topsy turvy ride. I wouldn’t say we were very consistent. We had a few good results. Considering that we played fewer tournaments than usual overall in a normal year, but it was a decent year. But we wanted to end it on a high note. 

Satwik: Definitely [big targets for 2022]. We have CWG, Asian Games... want to do well at All England. Unfortunately couldn’t finish in the podium this year, hopefully next year. 

PV Sindhu tells BWF: “Tai is a tricky player and has very good skills so it’s not going to be easy. At times you won’t be able to anticipate her shots but you have to make sure you’re always in the match, making sure you take all the shots, and you have to be patient. The key is to pick all her shuttles, to keep it in the court. If I get a lead I should maintain it and finish it off.”

Men’s doubles, [8] India 20-22, 21-18, 15-21 Malaysia [9]: End of the road for Satwik and Chirag in the 2021 World Championships. A lovely match from two great pairs, played in good spirits. The Indians paid the price for momentary lapses at the end of game one and start of game three.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 20-22, 21-18, 14-20 Malaysia [9]: Six match points for the Malaysians.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 20-22, 21-18, 14-19 Malaysia [9]: That start to the third game has just proved too much but they are still fighting, the Indians.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 20-22, 21-18, 12-19 Malaysia [9]: No, no. That was bad! Couldn’t afford that error there Chirag. Misses a smash. And then Satwik too. Big lead again for the Malaysians.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 20-22, 21-18, 12-16 Malaysia [9]: SUPERB RALLY! From both pairs. Satwik finishes the point after great defensive work from Chirag.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 20-22, 21-18, 11-16 Malaysia [9]: Nice, nice. Chirag steps up at the front court. Good little phase for the Indians.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 20-22, 21-18, 9-16 Malaysia [9]: This is like what we saw more in the first two games, with points being exchanged. Problematically, it does the Indians no good.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 20-22, 21-18, 8-15 Malaysia [9]: Huge miss. Dominant point rom the Indians but with the kill shot looming, Chirag’s racket deserts him. Not going Indians’ way, but they have the serve back.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 20-22, 21-18, 6-14 Malaysia [9]: The pressure is telling. Not just the Malaysians playing well but the Indians have lost coordination and losing their steps, missing simple shots. Need inspiration from somewhere.... and Satwik nails a jump smash as we type that.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 20-22, 21-18, 3-11 Malaysia [9]: Wow. This is ridiculous shift of gears from the Malaysians. Six straight points! And they have a massive lead at the change of ends.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 20-22, 21-18, 3-8 Malaysia [9]: Four point lead for the Malaysians, the commentators tell us the first time in the match that is happening. Five now. Oh dear. Teo is a livewire on the court and he is dominating these short exchanges.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 20-22, 21-18, 2-5 Malaysia [9]: Three point leads have not been common in this match but the Malaysians have started well in the decider. A double touch from the Indians there.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 20-22, 21-18, 1-3 Malaysia [9]: Start accha karna hai, was the last word from coach (Arun Vishnu, I think) to the Indians. Fantastic rally fourth point, Chirag just sends it wide.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 20-22, 21-18 Malaysia [9] Delightful, delightful doubles badminton. The Malaysians’ have been great on defence, but the Indians have matched them too when needed. Unlike the first game, Satwik-Chirag close it out promptly. DECIDER!

Men’s doubles, [8] India 20-22, 20-18 Malaysia [9]: Super hold-and-smash at the net from Chirag and game points from the Indians.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 20-22, 19-18 Malaysia [9]: Chirag corners the two Malaysian pairs and finishes the point. Teo with a superb return and now the Malaysians have the serve back! NERVES.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 20-22, 18-16 Malaysia [9]: An absolutely superb rally from all four players! This time the Indians defending as if their lives depended on it (like the Koreans, the commentator jokes) but Teo plays a superb winner to clinh the point. Another lovely rally ends with soft hands from Satwik at the net... crucial little lead.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 20-22, 15-15 Malaysia [9]: Ong-Teo return the favour on the challenge. But still going one-point each at the moment.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 20-22, 14-14 Malaysia [9]: A wild challenge from the Indians, the shuttle way long beyond the back-line.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 20-22, 13-13 Malaysia [9]: Very similar to the opening game where there was nothing to separate the two pairs in the mid-game.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 20-22, 11-9 Malaysia [9]: The Indians have a 2-point lead this time at the interval. Two quick points, won each by Satwik and Chirag. They need a bigger lead here to breathe easy. Must-win.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 20-22, 9-9 Malaysia [9]: Fantastic spinning shot at the net from Satwik to win another point. The Malaysians however level things up again.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 20-22, 8-6 Malaysia [9]: Satwik misses the simplest kill shot after a top rally, but makes up for it next point.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 20-22, 4-4 Malaysia [9]: Neither pair has managed to go on any sort of run of points for a while.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 20-22 Malaysia [9]: Satwik-Chirag had the edge at the business end but it is the Malaysians who take the first game. What a fantastic, close game. Shame it had to be determined by those errors at the end from the Indians.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 20-21 Malaysia [9]: Indians on the backfoot in the next rally and they face a game point now.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 20-20 Malaysia [9]: Misjudgement from Satwik at the backline and the game points have been erased. Deuce situation.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 20-19 Malaysia [9]: Oh service error from the Malaysians! Game points.... and oh dear, service fault for height from Satwik again. Nerves from both pairs.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 19-18 Malaysia [9]: Body smash from Teo and the Malaysians have the serve back. Tight tight tight.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 19-17 Malaysia [9]: Chirag has really upped his game in recent times in rallying with opponents and he shows that again there. Then again, killing from the front court. Crucial lead.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 16-16 Malaysia [9]: Another rally that the Indians have to attack and attack and attack but finally Chirag is able to kill the point. Next point, Teo with good play. Level again. Told you it would be close.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 14-14 Malaysia [9]: Satwik shapes up to smash and then drops the shuttle well to catch the Malaysians’ on the back-foot. They have the lead but Ong-Teo level it now.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 13-13 Malaysia [9]: Both the Indians not hesitant to occupy the front court to help in the flat exchanges. A superb rally from the Indians and they have levelled the score a couple of times now.

Ashish Magotra: The Malaysians’ defence has been exceptional.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 9-11 Malaysia [9]: Chirag loses his racket mid-rally after the Indians get their feet tangled. Another service error from the Indians and the Ong-Teo with a mini lead at the interval.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 7-7 Malaysia [9]: Neither pair taking control yet. Satwik-Chirag are content in the early stages to play the waiting game. Slow conditions, we have been told, in Huelva.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 5-5 Malaysia [9]: The Malaysian pair has started better. Quick exchanges. And geez, the service errors for height keep happening from the Indian pair! Someone must do something about that. Satwik this time. Slightly off-tempo start to this match from both pairs.

Men’s doubles, [8] India 0-2 Malaysia [9]: A patient rally to start off, goes the Malaysians’ way with a drop. And wow, a string-break in the 2nd rally of the match! For both Satwik and Chirag. They gave it all, but Ong-Teo strong on defence.

Men’s doubles, [8] India vs Malaysia [9]: Look at the scoreline in their previous matches. Some real close battles.

Men’s doubles, [8] India vs Malaysia [9]: Time for Satwik-Chirag vs Ong-Teo. 8th seeds vs 9th seeds in the round of 16... as tough as it gets at this stage. 2-2 head-to-head, very little separating them on the world rankings or on the court.

Next up for India: Satwik-Chirag, the 8th seeds, will take the court against the 9th seeds, Ong-Teo from Malaysia.

Women’s doubles, India 13-21, 15-21 Thailand [6]: Ashwini and Sikki were just outclassed today. They were never truly in this. Jongkolphan-Rawinda now have a 7-0 H2H record against Ashwini-Sikki.

PV Sindhu’s reaction to her win (via BWF Mixed Zone):

[Her take on the match] Well it was very important for me to get that win, previous two times I had lost against her. Important for me to, from the first point, be focussed on each and every point and give my best. There were some long rallies, I managed to win a couple of them and the first game was a bit easy. Second game, even though I was leading, she came back. It was important then for me to focus on the next point. Happy that I won in two sets. 

[What was different after the last two defeats against Chochuwong] Obviously, I went back and made sure what mistakes I did previously, me and my coach discussed about them. Prepared a strategy on how to play, it worked out and I am happy. 

[On if she is close to her best] (Smiles) Well, tomorrow is against Tai. We are playing again now after Olympics. I just want to give my best, no matter what. It’s not going to be an easy match, I need to be prepared for a long rally and a big match. So from my side, I will give my 100%. 

[Sindhu and big tournaments...is she consciously aware of that?] Well yeah, people keep telling me that. I take it as a positive thing and just hope that it works every single time! (smiles) No, just joking. I honestly don’t know... I just don’t know how I play at times like this. But it’s good to be on the winning side at the big events. 

The Olympic trinket she has been sporting since Europe. A proud Olympian.

Women’s doubles, India 13-21 Thailand [6]: Jongkolphan-Rawinda put in a brilliant second half to take the first game in 17 minutes. Tough task gets harder for Ashwini-Sikki

Women’s doubles, India 9-11 Thailand [6]: The Indians certainly not overawed here, but the Thai’s clearly have more firepower. A couple of errors apart, the Indians are playing catch up.

Women’s doubles, India 5-6 Thailand [6]: The sixth seeds jumped to a 3-0 lead by the Indian pair pulled it back to 3-2. And similarly again to make it 6-6. Ashwini taking charge of the front court there.

Women’s doubles, India vs Thailand: Sindhu’s match done, now we have Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy against the sixth seeds Rawinda Prajongjai and Jongkolphan Kititharakul, against whom the Indians have a 0-6 record. Their four meetings this year have all been straight-game wins for the Thai pair. The Indians have however been in really good recent form.

Next up for India are Ashwini and Sikki in the women’s doubles. They are taking on the sixth seeds. A pair they have never defeated before:

PV Sindhu at World Championships: Still hasn’t lost before the quarterfinal

 2013: Semifinal 

2014: Semifinal 

2015: Quarterfinal 

2017: Final 

2018: Final 

2019: Champion

 2021: Reaches QF 

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu 21-13, 21-18 Pornpawee Chochuwong: Sindhu nails a straight smash and is into the quarterfinal yet again at Worlds! As if by destiny, near identical time the two matches finish. Sindhu vs TTY once again.

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu 21-13, 20-18 Pornpawee Chochuwong: Delightful rally, this goes Sindhu’s way! Power game to the fore. Match points for the Indian as TTY just finishes her match.

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu 21-13, 19-18 Pornpawee Chochuwong: Well, well. Another lovely rally from both players and in the end Sindhu sends a clear long!

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu 21-13, 19-17 Pornpawee Chochuwong: PC has the serve back, and Sindhu misses a forehand block. Not over just yet.

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu 21-13, 19-15 Pornpawee Chochuwong: And Sindhu eggs herself on with another round-the-head crosscourt winner! Two points away now. (Sindhu has never lost at the Worlds before QF, mind you)

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu 21-13, 18-15 Pornpawee Chochuwong: And another delightful crosscourt net winner from PC. Well, well.

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu 21-13, 18-14 Pornpawee Chochuwong: Sindhu needed to end that mini resurgence and she does so with a brilliant downward crosscourt shot. PC gets the serve back with another casual winner at the net. She has played some lovely shots, just too many errors otherwise.

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu 21-13, 17-13 Pornpawee Chochuwong: This is a good phase for PC. Three straight points. The third with a lovely clear over Sindhu, that’s not easy to do.

On court 1: TTY has a 11-6 lead in the decider against Gilmour.

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu 21-13, 17-11 Pornpawee Chochuwong: Might already be late but if Chochuwong wants a shot at this match, she needs a run of points now. Wins a lovely long rally to get the serve back.

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu 21-13, 17-10 Pornpawee Chochuwong: Utterly in control at the moment, the Indian.

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu 21-13, 15-9 Pornpawee Chochuwong: A long rally goes PC’s way as she finds the line with a drop this time but Sindhu responds with a searing straight smash. And then sucks PC into the net and plays a nice lift. TTY meanwhile has raced to 6-2 in the decider.

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu 21-13, 13-8 Pornpawee Chochuwong: Sindhu can only smile wryly as a line call that she challenged is off by a hair’s width. But the Indian is not letting up on the intensity at all here, wonderful to see. Stays ahead by 5 points.

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu 21-13, 11-6 Pornpawee Chochuwong: Sindhu wins the longest rally of the match (24 shots) as PC sends a drop just wide. And she opens up a nice lead into the interval. Meanwhile, Gilmour takes the 2nd game! From 20-12, TTY made it 19-20 but the Scot closes it out.

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu 21-13, 7-4 Pornpawee Chochuwong: Sindhu’s super crosscourt lift lands just in and the challenge doesn’t help. Error from PC and then another nice winner from Sindhu. Good lead here.

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu 21-13, 4-4 Pornpawee Chochuwong: And four straight points for PC! Including a sensational net exchange that goes the Thai’s way after a delightful crosscourt. Sindhu with a “come on” a PC sends a lift long.

Ashish Magotra: Sindhu forcing quite a few of the errors too but we will see whether drift played a role now

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu 21-13, 3-0 Pornpawee Chochuwong: Well that’s one way to consolidate the opening game. Imposing start from Sindhu to the second game, injecting pace right away. Looks like she recognises the importance of a good start here. And meanwhile, Gilmour lead 14-8 in the 2nd game vs TTY!

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu 21-13 Pornpawee Chochuwong: Solid, solid start from Sindhu. The second half was much better than the first for the Indian as she produced a few lovely winners. Still feels like the game would be tighter if the Thai cleans up her errors.

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu 20-13 Pornpawee Chochuwong: PC has missed the lines far too often. Seven game points for Sindhu.

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu 19-11 Pornpawee Chochuwong: Nothing tidy about that winner... boom, a sledgehammer smash ala Basel 2019 from Sindhu. Follows that with a lovely half smash. Big lead now.

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu 17-11 Pornpawee Chochuwong: Another patient rally from Sindhu, error comes from the Thai. Tidy is the word for Sindhu so far.

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu 16-11 Pornpawee Chochuwong: Sindhu challenges a down-the-line winner from PC and it has just caught the line. It’s been a solid second half from Sindhu so far. Gets the serve back with a superb crosscourt lift! Precision.

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu 14-9 Pornpawee Chochuwong: And now Sindhu playing with more control... two well constructed points after the break. A lovely cross-court drop winner. And then another solid rally from Sindhu ending with PC error. Meanwhile on court 1, TTY takes the first game 21-10.

Sindhu has the early lead in this one... but just feels like Chochuwong is controlling the rallies more. Errors not helping the Thai. Let’s see how it goes. Coach Park has had his say.

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu 11-9 Pornpawee Chochuwong: We are all level now after a couple of errors from Sindhu. The Indian needed to get a winner, she does it with aplomb. Then PC sends a clear long. Indian with a mini lead at the interval .

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu 9-8 Pornpawee Chochuwong: Another crosscourt smash from PC and she has closed the gap down. Sindhu with a more proactive rally next up and kills from the net. A Lovely rally next up but Sindhu goes wide from the kill shot.

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu 8-6 Pornpawee Chochuwong: The game is being played on the Thai’s racket pretty much for now. Errors or winners. Meanwhile, TTY has raced to 11-7.

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu 7-4 Pornpawee Chochuwong: Both players vying for control here early. PC with a nice hold-flick to win a point but then she sends a couple of shuttles long. Not quite getting her lengths right.

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu 5-3 Pornpawee Chochuwong: A nice start for Sindhu with four straight points. Moving PC around well. The Thai breaks the run of points with a couple of pacy straight smashes.

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu 1-1 Pornpawee Chochuwong: Two quick short points to start off, PC with a roar early after her inside-out crosscourt, Sindhu responds in kind.

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu vs Pornpawee Chochuwong: Sindhu has chosen the near side... PC to serve. Here we go.

On court 1, Tai Tzu Ying vs Kirsty Gilmour.

On court 2, PV Sindhu vs Pornpawee Chochuwong.

Winners to face each other...

Women’s singles, PV Sindhu vs Pornpawee Chochuwong: The Thai, who ended Sindhu’s All England hopes earlier this year, would be raring to go at arguably the biggest event for her this year. Sindhu, too, has been in impressive form as she claimed her second silver medal at the season-ending World Tour Finals after three successive semifinals finishes at French Open, Indonesia Masters and Indonesia Open.

Sindhu holds a 4-3 record in their overall Head-to-Head but Chochuwong has won their last two matches this year (All England and then recently the World Tour Finals.)

Right off the gates, a big match coming up. Sixth seed and defending champion PV Sindhu vs ninth seed Pornpawee Chochuwong. Sindhu has never lost before the quarterfinal stages at the Worlds. Can she keep that run going? It will be a tough test.

ICYMI yesterday: A wonderful 65-shot rally. Doubles badminton at its best.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Day 5 of the BWF World Championships. There are six Indian matches to look forward to on what promises to be a pretty busy day.

Sindhu’s title defence faces a stern test from the in-form Pornpawee Chochuwong when the round of 16 action begins in Huelva on Thursday.

Srikanth Kidambi is now a marked man in the top half of the men’s singles draw where he is the only seeded player remaining. He will be taking on China’s Lu Guang Zu.

Also in action are HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen and the doubles pairs – Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty

Here’s India’s schedule for the day:

(Screenshots in the blog courtesy Tournament Software and Disney+Hotstar)