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Badminton Draw—Tokyo Olympics: Tricky draw for Sindhu, Praneeth, Satwik-Chirag - LIVE updates, fixtures, blog, who plays who?

Tough draw handed to the Tokyo-bound Indian shuttlers - PV Sindhu, Sai Praneeth and Satwik-Chirag. Medal hopes will be really tricky now.

Badminton Draw—Tokyo Olympics: Tricky draw for Sindhu, Praneeth, Satwik-Chirag - LIVE updates, fixtures, blog, who plays who?
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By

The Bridge Desk

Updated: 31 July 2021 8:26 AM GMT

Welcome to The Bridge's LIVE blog of the Tokyo Olympics badminton draw - stay with us as we take you through the expected clashes.

With two weeks remaining before the Musashino Forest Sports Plaza transforms into the hunting ground for ambitious shuttlers at the Tokyo Olympics, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) will decide the fate of the proceedings today. Scheduled to take place between 24th July to 2nd August, badminton at the Tokyo Summer Olympics will feature five categories - men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles and finally, mixed doubles.

For India, the badminton draw will play an important role and help predict the chances of the shuttlers setting sail for Tokyo. Led by 2016 Rio silver medallist PV Sindhu and followed by other Olympic debutants like B. Sai Praneeth and the doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty, the draw will play a crucial factor.

The full badminton draw is out now - tough chances for all Indian shuttlers

First, in the Women's Singles, sixth-seeded PV Sindhu is placed in Group J and will have to sail past opponents from Hong Kong China and Israel before moving onto the knock-out stages. Once there, she will potentially face Mia Blichfeldt, followed by Akane Yamaguchi in the quarters, Tai Tzu-ying in the semis and finally, Chen Yufei in the finals.

Second, in the Men's Singles, the thirteenth-seeded Sai Praneeth has a very tricky draw and is placed in Group D. In the group stages, he will have to brave past opponents from Israel and Netherlands. The knockout stages are incredibly demanding of Praneeth as he will have to face Ng Ka Long Angus in the Round of 16, followed by Kento Momota in the quarters, either Viktor Axelsen or Jonatan Christie in the semis and lastly, Chou Tien Chen or Anders Antonsen in the finals.

Lastly, the most difficult group stages draw has been dealt to the dynamic doubles duo of Satwik-Chirag. Placed in Group A, Satwik-Chirag have the World No. 1 Indonesian duo - the Minions to worry about. They also have the Chinese Taipei pair of Lee Yang-Wang Chi-Lin and the British combine of Ben Lane and Sean Vendy to combat with.

Follow all our updates here:

Live Updates

  • 8 July 2021 3:15 PM GMT

    Thank you for joining The Bridge on our LIVE coverage of the Tokyo Olympics Badminton draw. 

    Stay tuned for more updates! 

  • 8 July 2021 2:44 PM GMT

    What does the road to gold look like for Sai Praneeth?

    Finally, Sai Praneeth, provided he manages to get past the group stages will have a lot of tricky opponents on his plate to deal with. 

    Round of 16 - NG Ka Long Angus 

    Quarter-final - Kento Momota 

    Semi-final - Anders Antonsen/Viktor Axelsen 

    Final - Chou Tien Chen

    Phew, this is an incredibly difficult line-up for the 13th seed! 

  • 8 July 2021 2:39 PM GMT

    What does the road to a gold medal look like for PV Sindhu?

    Once PV Sindhu sails past the group stages, she is expected to clash against Denmark's Mia Blichfeldt in the Round of 16, followed by a quarter-final clash against either Japan's Akane Yamaguchi or South Korea's Kim Ga Eun. Moving ahead, Sindhu will quite a few tough nuts to crack as World No. 1 Tai Tzu-ying will await her in the semi-finals and a delicious clash against Chen Yufei, the Numero Uno seed awaits her for a chance at the gold medal! 

  • 8 July 2021 2:34 PM GMT

    Draw recap of Men's Singles

    Finally, in the men's singles, the 13th seeded Sai Praneeth will have to play smartly against Netherland's Mark Caljouw who has been a semi-finalist at the recently-concluded All England Open 2021. Other than that, Praneeth also has Israel's Misha Zilberman to worry about. 

    Prediction for Group Stage: If Sai Praneeth manages to go past Caljouw, he will be having it easy. Let's hope for the best.

  • 8 July 2021 2:32 PM GMT

    Draw recap - Women's Singles

    PV Sindhu can breathe a sigh of relief as she doesn't have any major threats in her half of the draw. Placed in Group J, Sindhu will hope to sail past her opponents from Hong Kong China and Israel. 

    The sixth-seeded Sindhu has to fare well against Hong Kong China's Cheung Ngan Yi and Israel's Ksenia Polikarpova. 

    Prediction for Group Stage: It should be smooth sailing for the 2016 Rio Games silver medallist. Easy draw. 

  • 8 July 2021 2:28 PM GMT

    Let's do a draw recap - Men's Doubles

    Here's a quick recap of the draws featuring the Tokyo-bound Indian shuttlers

    Men's Doubles: 

    Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty [World No. 10] will have to pitch their everything to get past formidable opponents like Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/ Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo [World No. 1] , Chinese Taipei's - Lee Yang/ Wang Chi-Lin [World No. 3] and Great Britain's Ben lane/ Sean Vendy [World No. 18] 

    Prediction for Group Stage: Satwik-Chirag have been handed an incredibly tricky draw and it would be a miracle if they manage to pull off an upset and get into the knockout rounds. Very tough luck, sadly. 

  • 8 July 2021 2:23 PM GMT

    Sai Praneeth can also fare well

    Looking to debut in Tokyo in two weeks, Sai Praneeth must bring his A-game to the Olympics! 


  • 8 July 2021 2:21 PM GMT

    PV Sindhu looks good to go for a medal!

    It's spelling good times for the 2019 World Champion who cannot wait to get her hands on the gold!  Let's go, Sindhu! 


  • 8 July 2021 2:18 PM GMT

    Sai Praneeth handed a moderately easy draw

    Sai Praneeth will have to brave past Caljouw if he intends to carry on to the knock-out stages. Not an impossible job really but it will depend on the game Praneeth brings on the match day! 

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