Badminton
Tokyo Olympics: Badminton Day 1, July 24 – Satwik-Chirag and Sai Praneeth to open their campaign – Preview, schedule, LIVE Streaming, where to watch
Set to headline the badminton action on Day 1, Satwik-Chirag and Sai Praneeth will face exciting opponents in their group stage clashes at the Tokyo Olympics.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty (Source:BWF)
It's set to be an exciting first day at the Tokyo Olympics as the sporting action begins with full gusto in the Japanese capital on July 24th, 2021. A lot of drama is expected to unfurl from the get-go as the badminton events also begin at the Musashino Forest Sports Plaza in Chofu, Japan. For India - there is much to look forward to as the dynamic pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty and men's singles candidate of B. Sai Praneeth will headline the Day 1 action at the Tokyo Olympics.
Handed the most difficult as well as demanding draw, the World No. 10 pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty are placed in Group A with top seeds Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and Marcus Fernaldi Gideon a.k.a 'The Minions'. For their opening Group A Play Stage match, the young debutant duo of Satwik-Chirag will have to lock horns with World No. 3 pair from Chinese Taipei, Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin.
Quite a pressing challenge in itself, given the fact that the Taiwanese combine have racked up title wins at the Yonex Thailand Open 2021, Toyota Thailand Open 2021 and topped it off with a World Tour Finals victory in January, Satwik-Chirag will have a tough job on their hands. However, having trained under Danish coach and 2012 London Olympics silver medallist Mathias Boe, Satwik-Chirag have it in them to pull off a surprise and give the Taipei pair a hard time.
In the men's singles, World No. 15 B. Sai Praneeth, who is the lone entrant from India in this category since former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth failed to make the Tokyo cut, will be facing Israel's Misha Zilberman in his first Group D Play Stage match.
The 2019 World Championships bronze medallist, Praneeth will hope to begin his debut Olympics on a winning note as he takes on the World No. 47 player once again this year. Earlier, at the 2021 Swiss Open, Sai Praneeth swept past Zilberman in their Round of 32 encounter in just 34 minutes, 11-21, 14-21. Sai will obviously be looking to repeat that feat at the Tokyo Olympics.
Schedule and When to Watch?
The venue for all badminton events at the Tokyo Olympics is going to be the Musashino Forest Sports Plaza where all the on-court action is expected to unfurl.
Men's Doubles - Group A Play Stage
Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin [3] v Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty [9] not before 8:50 AM IST
Men's Singles - Group D Play Stage
Sai Praneeth [13] v Misha Zilberman not before 9:30 AM IST
Live Streaming and Where to Watch?
You can catch all the action LIVE on Sony Sports Network channels in India. You can also live stream it on the Sony LIV application or website if you have the required subscription. Alternatively, you can also watch the match on Doordarshan (DD) Sports in India.
Here are the details of broadcasters in some more countries:
Japan: The Japan Consortium
USA: NBC Universal
UK: BBC, Eurosport
China: CCTV
Australia: Seven Network
Germany: ARD-ZDF
Brazil: Grupo Globo, Bandsports
Spain: RTVE
Italy: RAI
France: Eurosport
South Africa: SABC
