Badminton
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.
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 1:24 PM GMT
The Women's Doubles draw is OUT!
We can expect quite a few fireworks with a draw as intense as this!!
- 8 July 2021 1:22 PM GMT
All the draws being conducted now are on the rankings of players as on June 15, 2021 on the BWF website.
So far, the Women's Doubles grouping looks very exciting and we can expect some intense clashes between China and Japan.
- 8 July 2021 1:20 PM GMT
The top 2 from each of these groups will be proceeding to the knockout stages of the tournament and fight it out for the elusive Olympic medals.
The draws are being done very strategically here!
- 8 July 2021 1:18 PM GMT
The women's doubles draw is ON full-fledged!
The fate of the Women's Doubles pairs are being decided right now at the National Badminton Centre!
- 8 July 2021 1:15 PM GMT
It is time for the Women's Doubles draw
Top pair from Japan take the top spot in the Group A and second seeded pair from China take Group D!
- 8 July 2021 1:13 PM GMT
The mixed doubles draw is out!
The Mixed Doubles will be sorted into four groups -
- 8 July 2021 1:06 PM GMT
The top seeds in the mixed doubles are placed on top of the Group A and the second seeds are placed in the bottom half of Group D.
- 8 July 2021 1:04 PM GMT
The badminton draw will be arranged in groups to allow for more drama to take place. There will be 5 draws taking place today!
- 8 July 2021 1:01 PM GMT
Let the draw begin!
Right on time, we are about to begin with the draw ceremony now!
