Badminton at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou is shaping up to be a dynamite competition featuring most of the top players on the BWF World Tour.
Apart from men’s singles world No.1 Viktor Axelsen, Anders Antonsen (10th), Carolina Marin and Beiwen Zhang – the No.6 and 10 in the women’s ranking, respectively – the tour’s top contenders are all in Hangzhou for the badminton tournament, which runs from 28 September to 7 October at Binjiang Gymnasium.
World champion and No.2 Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand and Asian champion Anthony Sinisuka Ginting are in, as are world No.3 Naraoka Kodai – who was runner-up to Vitidsarn in Copenhagen – and Jonathan Christiethe Games’ defending champion. Shi Yuqi and Li Shifeng will represent the Chinese hosts.
The top three women – world champion An Se-young, Yamaguchi Akane and Chen Yufei – who have netted most of the major titles on the circuit this season have also thrown their hat into the ring.
Hopes are particularly high for Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Chen, who is a native of Hangzhou.
Jakarta 2018 gold medallist and reigning Asian champion Tai Tzu Ying also returns.
Doubles action will be just as intense, with the Chinese eyeing a sweep of the three pairs titles – Liang Weikeng/Wang Chang (men’s), Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan (women’s) and Zheng Si Wei/Huang Yaqiong (mixed).
Competition will begin with the round of 16 in the men’s and women’s team events.
2023-09-24 08:42:00
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