BEIJING, July 12 (Xinhua) -- The Badminton World Federation (BWF) unveiled the group stage draw for the badminton events at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Friday.
In the men's singles, each of the 13 groups will see their top player advance to the knockout stage. China's Shi Yuqi, the world No. 1 and top seed, is set to compete against Soren Opti of Suriname and Giovanni Toti of Italy in Group A.
Denmark's Viktor Axelsen, the second seed, will face Ireland's Nhat Nguyen, Israel's Misha Zilberman, and Nepal's Prince Dahal in Group P. Meanwhile, Indonesia's Jonatan Christie and Denmark's Anders Antonsen, seeded third and fourth respectively, are placed in Groups L and E.
For the women's singles, South Korea's top seed An Se-young will face Kaloyana Nalbantova of Bulgaria and France's Qi Xuefei in Group A. China's Chen Yufei, the second seed and reigning Olympic gold medalist, is drawn in Group P with Denmark's Mia Blichfeldt and Germany's Yvonne Li.
Third seed Tai Tzu-ying of Chinese Taipei will contend with Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon and Belgium's Lianne Tan in Group E, while Spain's Carolina Marin, the fourth seed, is grouped with Ireland's Rachael Darragh and Jenjira Stadelmann of Switzerland in Group L.
In both the men's and women's singles, the top finishers from Groups A, E, and P will receive byes to the quarterfinals, adding an extra incentive.
The women's doubles and mixed doubles events feature 16 pairs each, divided into four groups led by the top four seeds, with the top two from each group progressing to the quarterfinals.
In women's doubles Group A, China's Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan, the Tokyo Olympic runners-up, will face Japan's Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara, Malaysia's Tan Pearly and Thinaah Muralitharan, and Indonesia's Apriyani Rahayu and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti.
South Korea's second seeds Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee will compete against Denmark's Sara Thygesen and Maiken Fruergaard, Thailand's Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai, and France's Margot Lambert and Anne Tran in Group D. China's Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning and Japan's Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida are seeded third and fourth, placed in Groups B and C respectively.
In the mixed doubles, China's top seeds Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong will take on South Korea's Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun, France's Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue, and Indonesia's Rinov Rivaldy and Pitha Haningtyas Mentari in Group A.
Second seeds Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping, also from China, are in Group D with Vinson Chiu and Jennie Gai from the United States, Malaysia's Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei, and Singapore's Terry Hee and Jessica Tan. South Korea's third seeds Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yu-jung and Japan's fourth seeds Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino are drawn in Groups B and C respectively.
The BWF announced that the draw for the men's doubles event will be postponed pending a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) hearing.
The badminton competition is set to begin on July 27, the day after the opening ceremony, at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena in Paris, and will run until August 5. ■
