The results of the draw for the Tokyo Olympics badminton events revealed that Chen Long avoids Kento Momota and Anseron
Xinhua News Agency, Kuala Lumpur, July 9th (Reporter Lin Hao) The draw for the Tokyo Olympics badminton event was held on the 8th at the National Badminton Center in Milton Keynes, UK. According to the results of the draw, the men’s singles defending champion Chen Long avoided the top two world rankings, Kento Momota and Ansailong in the upper half, but the first round of the knockout round is expected to face the Shinke All England Open champion, Malaysian player Li Zijia. In women’s singles, as the top seed, Chen Yufei may face Japan’s Okuhara Hope in the semifinals.
The Olympic badminton tournament adopts a group stage plus knockout tournament system. For the Tokyo Olympics men’s singles event, 42 players were shortlisted, divided into 14 groups, each with 3 players; women’s singles had 43 finalists, divided into 14 groups, except for one group with 4 players, the rest of the teams were all 3 players . In the singles event, each group has a seed player, the group leader will qualify, and the top two seeds will have a bye in the first round of the elimination round. There are 16 pairs of players participating in the doubles event, and each doubles is divided into 4 groups. Each group has a pair of seeded players, and the top two of the group will qualify. After the group match, the lottery will be drawn again to decide the knockout match.
In each individual draw, the top two seeds are automatically divided into the upper and lower halves. Players from the same association are in different groups in the group stage. In addition, the specific placement is determined by the draw. In the men’s singles draw, the defending champion Chen Long, the No. 6 seed, was divided into the lower half, avoiding the Japanese players Momota and Denmark’s Anseron who are also favorites to win the championship. However, after qualifying from the group, Chen Long is expected to face up to the new Malaysian Li Zijia in the first knockout round. The latter is regarded as one of the dark horses of this Olympics and defeated Chen Long in the 2020 All England Championship. If he enters the quarterfinals, Chen Long is expected to face the No. 2 seed, Zhou Tiancheng of Chinese Taipei; the semifinal opponent may be No. 3 seed, Antonsen from Denmark.
Another Chinese men’s singles star, Shi Yuqi, entered the upper half of Taotian and Ansailong. In the first round of the knockout round, he will face Indonesian Jonathan. If he advances to the quarter-finals, he is expected to face Ansailong. Furthermore, the semi-finals will need to face Momota.
In the women’s singles, Chen Yufei and teammate He Bingjiao shared the same score in the upper half. Chen Yufei has a bye in the first round of the knockout round, and the opponent in the second round may be South Korean rookie An Xiying; He Bingjiao is expected to face American Zhang Beiwen after qualifying.
In doubles, the Chinese mixed doubles combination Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong and Wang Yilu/Huang Dongping are the top two seeds; women’s doubles Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan and men’s doubles Li Junhui/Liu Yuchen are also seeded players; the other women’s doubles combination Du Yue/ Li Yinhui and No. 4 seed South Korean combination Li Shaoxi/Shin Seung-chan are in a group, but the other two opponents in the same group are relatively weak.
The badminton events of the Tokyo Olympics will be held from July 24 to August 2. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, the Chinese badminton team won the men’s singles and men’s doubles gold medals. Among Guoyu’s lineup for Tokyo this time, only Chen Long has Olympic experience, and he is the only defending champion in all five competitions in the three Olympic games.
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