Badminton: Tough draws for Lakshya, Sindhu; Satwik-Chirag eye another gold in Asian Games badminton
Lakshya Sen and P.V. Sindhu face a stern test after being handed challenging draws, while defending champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty got a relatively favourable route to the semifinals as the focus shifts to the individual competitions following the team championship, beginning on Friday.
India managed to secure back-to-back medals at the Asian Games after the men’s team signed off with a bronze following a silver in the last edition at Hangzhou, China.
Lakshya, who received a first-round bye, will open his campaign against former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in the second round. Things will not get any easier as the 25-year-old from Almora could then face world No. 1 Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in the quarterfinals if he surpasses Loh.
Two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu, like Lakshya, will begin in the second round after receiving a bye. She could face Japan’s seventh seed Tomoka Miyazaki in the round of 16 and Tokyo Olympic champion Chen Yufei of China in the quarterfinals if she can continue a winning run.
-PTI
