Asian Games Badminton: Tough Draw for PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen

Indian badminton stars PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen have been handed challenging draws at the upcoming Asian Games. Two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu has received a first-round bye in the women’s singles and could face seventh seed Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan in the pre-quarterfinals. Her route to the semifinals could include a clash with Olympic champion Chen Yufei of China. Lakshya has also received a first-round bye in the men’s singles and is scheduled to face former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in the second round. A quarterfinal against world No. 1 Jonathan Christie of Indonesia could await him.

Defending champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have received a relatively favourable draw in the men’s doubles. The fourth-seeded Indian pair could meet top seeds Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae of South Korea in the semifinals, while they have comparatively manageable opponents in the earlier rounds. India won three badminton medals at the previous Asian Games, with Satwik and Chirag taking gold, the men’s team winning silver and HS Prannoy claiming bronze. The Indian shuttlers will aim to build on that performance in the upcoming edition.