Badminton
Tokyo Olympics Badminton: 5 female players to watch out for
A detailed look at the top 5 female players to compete in women's singles at the Tokyo Olympics.
World champion PV Sindhu
A total of 172 athletes will compete for the badminton events in Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and the women's singles title will one of the most sought out competitions in Tokyo. The final qualification results based on rankings for the Olympic quota will be announced in a few weeks, but the top names are already confirmed.
Let us have a look at the top 5 female players to watch out for:
Tai Tzu Ying (Chinese Taipei)
Tai Tzu Ying (Image: Shutterstock)
The World No.1 is an automatic choice for badminton fans to look up to in the Tokyo Olympics. Tai Tzu likes to be offensive and spontaneous and is a clever smasher despite her knack for slow touches near the net.
She went to become the World No. 1 in 2016 and has also made the record of holding on to the pinnacle for the longest duration in BWF history. Tai Tzu has won the singles titles in Asian Games, Asian Championships, and World Tour Finals in the last few years, and is a firm favourite.
Nozomi Okuhara (Japan)
Okuhara will look to take two steps forward and go for Gold at her home, after clinching the Bronze in Rio.
The Japanese shuttler is known for her endurance and stamina and will come fresh into the event with the women's singles title at the All England Open in March. The former World No.1's most memorable win so far was the 2015 Super Series win over fellow former World No.1 Wang Yihan in Dubai.
Chen Yufie (PR China)
Chen Yufie (Image: VCG)
The 23-year old has had a steady growth as a singles shuttler over the years and is now ranked at World No. 2. Her first major title was the Macau Open in 2015 and since then she has won the Malaysia Masters and BWF World Tour Finals in the recent few years.
Yufie also made it the World No.1 for a brief period and can be a surprise element for the other established shuttlers.
Ratchanok Intanon (Thailand)
Intanon is the first ever to win three superseries singles titles in three consecutive weeks and is ranked World No.6 due to a recent slump. However, one of her most terrific titles was only won in 2020 as she got the better of Olympic Champion Carolina Marin in the Indonesia Open.
Intanon had a disappointing 2016 Rio Olympics and will be upbeat for a medal finish.
PV Sindhu (India)
Sindhu's career-defining moment was arguably her silver medal finish in the Rio Olympics. With Marin injured for Tokyo, the Indian World No. 7 will look for a Gold Medal finish despite an underwhelming recent run of form and eventually breach the World No. 1 mark.
She finished second to Marin in the recently concluded Swiss Open and has a streak of runners up finishes which needs to be overturned. Her BWF World Championship win over Okuhara is one of her most significant recent major title wins.
