BWF Yonex Thailand Open 2021: PV Sindhu vs Mia Blichfeldt

Former World number 2, P.V. Sindhu takes on the World number 18, Mia Blichfeldt in an exciting opening round encounter as International competitions in badminton resume with the start of the Yonex Super 1000 Thailand Open. 

Players from China will not be taking part due to travel restrictions and players from Japan will not participate after their player, Kento Momota tested positive for Coronavirus. 

Head to Head record

P.V. Sindhu leads the head to head record 3-0 against Blichfeldt.

During the Covid-19 break, Sindhu extensively trained with high intensity in United Kingdom after not taking part in the national camp organized by the Badminton Association of India (BAI). She was trained by former European champion, Rajiv Ouseph. 

P.V. Sindhu will look to get off to a winning start in Thailand as she aims to get back to the top 5 of the rankings. Sindhu will be accompanied by her personal physio and trainer for the tournament.

Blichfeldt recently revealed that she has worked on her mental aspect of the game a lot. She has learnt from her mistakes. The Danish shuttler is also heavily inspired by Olympics 2016 gold medallist, Carolina Marin in her preparation for the big event.

Game Analysis:

Sindhu always faces trouble against players who use proactive strokeplay. If they start to dominate the pace of the rallies, she will be left endlessly defending the deceptive strokes from her opponent. Though the former World No.2 can use her towering height to put the shuttle in acute angles, players can move from side to side to block her smashes effectively. 

P.V Sindhu has worked hard on her netgame by improving her footspeed. She has displayed some sort of discomfort when smashes land into her body. Her cross-court smash is her biggest weapon. 

Blichfeldt has the uncanny ability to take an early lead at the start of the game. She can make strong comebacks even when she is trailing by many points. If gets into a good rhythm, she hardly makes any mistakes. 

Both players will look rusty as they are playing competitive badminton after a long time. 

Prediction - PV Sindhu to win in three games

Featured Image Credits - Press Trust of India (PTI)