NEW DELHI: THE newly-revamped Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium wore a busy look on Saturday as several elite players, including from India and China, hit the courts in the afternoon with a goal to get an edge over their opponents ahead of the BWF World Championships — set to begin on Monday. Even Anders Antonsen, a player who had kept a safe distance from the venue due to pollution over the last three years, was totally immersed in his flicks and returns against Danish counterpart Rasmus Gemke. With coach Irwansyah intently following the proceedings, PV Sindhu also shared the court with Ayush Shetty. Despite the traffic, it was hard to miss players from China.
World No 1 Shi Yu Qi, who is incidentally set to rival Ayush in the opening round, was also involved along with rest of the Chinese stars, as they looked to assess the conditions and make themselves game-ready. And so was Li Shi Feng, China No 2 in men's singles. "I feel like the drift and everything is better than last time. The venue is well-maintained and better than last time," World No 9 Feng said.
History suggests that China have been the dominant force across competitions, including the World Championships (they have an impressive tally of 208 medals in this competition), and they will be looking to impose their game in the next one week or so.
"The players of China are very good and large in number. We don't have pressure of performance as such. It is about learning from each other and that is beneficial," Feng, a top pro who has an ability to outshine anyone on his day, said.
Chen Yu Fei is no stranger to dealing with pressure. Over the years, she has collected countless high-pressure battles, with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medal being the high point, and she continues to be one of the leading players in the women's singles draw. The former World No 1 from Hangzhou sang from the same hymn sheet. "There is no pressure and we're only focussing on doing our best," the 2025 runner-up declared.
The reason why China have been so successful is because they have always hunted in packs. Singles, doubles, mixed doubles...they don't undervalue any category.
If Chen happens to have an off day, they can also rely on Wang Zhi Yi, who has evolved in the last few years to be a serious medal threat on the BWF World Tour. Wang, however, had stumbled against the might of Sindhu last term and will be hoping for an improved return this time around. Her mantra is following the process. "I don't want to think about the result or any title, I just focus on the process," she said.
Wang's highlight this year was undoubtedly getting a rare win over South Korean World No 1 An Se-young in the All England Open final. That had arrived after several second-place finishes and several heartbreaks. Wang said she has been working on the tactical side of the game. "I want to try to do a little bit of change in my tactics. I feel like I am doing pretty well, but on the court it doesn't work so hopefully, I can do better."
Wang and Sindhu have had quite a few tussles in recent times and there's a likelihood that they could cross paths again in the Round of 16 stage. Wang has had the edge over the Indian this year but the 26-year-old from Shashi, Jingzhou is expecting a stiff test this time around.
"She (Sindhu) is a good player, she just won the Japan Open title and I think she has been playing better and better. So, it's going to be tough, but I'm just focussed on my first match at the moment."
Several contenders will be looking to stop them for sure. But for all of them, the general theme is focussing on themselves. "The biggest obstacle is myself and if I conquer myself, I'll get that gold," Chen said.
Chen, Li and even Shi have had injury concerns in recent times but given their hunger and big-game nous, it will be hard to bet against them.