taken a bit of sheen out of the tournament. The in-form Malaysia great pulled out of the Grade 1 tournament due to respiratory issues. The three-time Olympic silver medallist is all set to miss this year's Asian Games as well.

On the other hand, Japan's Kento Momota, seeded sixth at the tournament, starts as the overwhelming favourite. The 23-year-old will be featuring in his first world championships since the gambling ban he had received in 2016. (What to expect from Indian shuttlers?)

The reigning Asian champion, who won a bronze at the 2015 edition, has been nearly unstoppable in the ongoing season and has been a cut above the rest. Not many, not even the likes of Axelsen, Kidambi Srikanth, and Lin, have been able to stop Momota's breathtaking run.

Momotahas been handed a relatively easy draw and the withdrawn of fourth seed Son Wan Ho means the Japanese star has an easy route to the quarter-final.

Momota is likely to face third-ranked Srikanth in the semi-final. If results from the recent past are anything to by, the Japanese star will cruise into the championship match without much trouble as he has beaten Srikanth twice in the last two months.

Srikanth has been a shadow of the shuttler who won four Superseries titles last year but has managed to consistently reach the final stages of top-tier tournaments this season.

The Indian shuttler will have to find a way to stop the Momota juggernaut if he is to clinch the prestigious crown in Nanjing.

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