Beijing, 12 Jul (Xinhua) -- The draw ceremony for the badminton event of the Paris Olympics was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 12 July. Men's Singles top seed Shi Yuqi and defending champion Viktor Axelsen are in the same half, defending Women's Singles champion Chen Yufei is in the same half as He Bingjiao, Ma Lin and Sindhu, and Women's Doubles Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan and Mixed Doubles Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong are both strong opponents in the group stage.
The badminton tournament at the Paris Olympics will be played in a group stage and knockout round, with individual seeding places allocated according to the world rankings on 9 July 2024. China's Men's Singles Shi Yuqi, Men's Doubles Leung Wai Keng/Wang Chang, Women's Doubles Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan, and Mixed Doubles Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong are all top seeds, while Women's Singles Chen Yufei is the second seed. In each individual draw, the top two seeds are automatically divided into the upper and lower halves, and players from the same association are in different groups in the group stage.
In singles, 41 men's singles players entered the Olympic Games, divided into 13 groups, including 3 players in 11 groups and 4 players in 2 groups; The 39 finalists in the women's singles are also divided into 13 groups of three people each. In the singles event, there is one seeded player from each group, and the top two seeds will receive a bye in the first round of the knockout round.
In the men's singles draw, Shi Yuqi did not have a strong opponent in the group stage, and his opponents in the quarter-finals could be between Kunlavut (Thailand) and Kenta Nishimoto (Japan), as well as strong opponents such as Antonsen (Denmark), Lee Zijia (Malaysia) and Ginting (Indonesia). China's sixth seed Li Shifeng is in Group N in the bottom half of the bracket and could face Axelsen (Denmark) in the quarter-finals if she progresses.
In the women's singles draw, Chen Yufei and sixth seed He Bingjiao were both in the bottom half. He Bingjiao is likely to face two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu (India) in the first round of the knockout round, and if she can get through, the two Chinese players will meet in the quarter-finals early. Also in the bottom half of the bracket is Rio Olympic champion Marin (Spain). In the top half of the women's singles world No. 1 An Seying (Korea) are Japan's Akane Yamaguchi and Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying.
The grouping and promotion rules for doubles events are quite different from those for singles. In the Women's Doubles and Mixed Doubles events, 16 pairs of players will compete in each event, each divided into four groups, with one seeded pair in each group, and the top two teams will qualify. After the group stage, the draw will be re-drawn to determine the knockout matchups, and the top two seeds are in Group A and Group D, where the first two divisions are in the two halves.
China's top women's doubles Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan and third seeds Liu Shengshu/Tan Ning are in groups A and B respectively. In Group A, "Fan Chen" will face Tokyo Olympic champion Rahayu and her new Paris cycle partner Ramadanti (Indonesia), while fellow pair Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara (Japan) are also strong in the same group.
The two mixed doubles pairs of Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong and Feng Yanzhe/Huang Dongping entered Group A and Group D as the top two seeds. Kim Won-ho/Jung Na-eun (Korea), Gicquel/Del Rue (France) and Rivaldi/Mentari (Indonesia) in the "IELTS" contract group are all very strong.
Before the draw ceremony, the BWF issued a statement on its official website that the men's doubles event will be drawn at a later date after a hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).