The Paris Olympics 2024 badminton competition started off with an upset staged in the women’s doubles while the other top contenders and seeded players breeze through their first hurdles as expected.
Here is a quick highlights of the badminton proceedings which saw 35 matches across the five disciplines completed on the opening day of the competition at the Arena Porte de la Chapelle.
Men’s Singles
Top seed Shi Yu Qi, seeking to reinstate China’s dominance in the men’s singles, started his gold medal hunt needing only 30 minutes to beat Sorin Opti of Suriname 21-5, 21-7.
Shi’s arch-rival, Viktor Axelsen, seeking a back-to-back win in Paris, also had an easy time over Olympic debutant Prince Dahal of Nepal 21-8, 21-6.
However, it was a different story for third seed Jonatan Christie who was dragged into three games before winning 18-21, 21-11, 21-16 in a 65-minute duel over Belgian Julien Carragi.
Eighth seed and former world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn had no trouble despatching Georges Julian Paul 21-9, 21-12 in 37 minutes while India’s Lakshya Sen, competing in his first Olympic, was given a tough time by 37-year-old Pan American champion Kevin Cordon before winning 21-8, 22-20.
Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen meanwhile posted his first win over Misha Zilberman of Israel 21-17, 19-21, 21-13.
A total of 41 players from 36 countries, divided into 13 groups are competing in the men’s singles badminton whereby the group winners will advance to the knockout stage.
Men’s Doubles
Defending champion Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin started off their title-defence campaign strongly, beating Japan’s top pair Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi 21-16, 21-10 in just 34 mins.
Denmark’s second seed Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark also eased past American Vinson Chiu/Joshua Yuan in 36 minutes, winning 21-13, 21-16 while top seed Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang had an easy time and a good warm-up winning over Canadian Adam Dong/Nyi Yakura 21-5, 21-12 in just 23 minutes.
However, it was a hard time for Malaysian top pair Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik who struggled and had to dig deep before overcoming Great Britain’s Ben Lane/Sean Vendy 19-21, 21-16, 21-11 in a marathon 1 hour 12 minutes encounter.
Indonesia’s top pair Fajar Alfian/Rian Ardianto, making their Olympic debut in Paris, walked away with a 21-13, 21-17 win over Germany’s Mark Lamsfuss/Marvin Seidel.
India’s third seed Satwiksairaj Rankireedy/Chirag Shetty, eliminated in the group stage in Tokyo 2020, started off well with a 21-17, 21-14 win over home pair Lucas Corvee/Ronan Labar in a 45-minute duel.
Fourth seed Kang Min Hyuk/Seo Seung Jae did not disappoint either, beating Ondrej Kral/Adam Mendrek of Czechia 21-12, 21-17 while Supak Jomkoh/Kittinupong Kedren of Thailand frustrated French pair Christo Popov/Toma Junior Popov 21-14, 21-19 to strengthen their positions in Group B.
Women’s Singles
Fifth seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan eased past Myanmar’s Thet Htar Thuzar with a 21-12-21-10 in just 29 minutes while sixth seed of China He Bing Jiao had no trouble downing Keisha Fatimah Azzahra of Azerbaijan, winning 21-8, 21-7 in just 28 minutes.
Singaporean Yeo Jia Min was in her element, finishing off Dorsa Yavarivava of the Refugee Olympic Team 21-7, 21-8 in 22 mins while Thailand’s medal hope Supnanida Katethong had to work hard before brushing aside Juliana Viana Viera 21-16, 21-19.
Korean Kim Ga Eun got off to a good start with a win over South African Johanita Scholtz 21-12, 21-16 while American Beiwen Zhang beat Olympic debutant Tiffany Ho of Australia 21-9, 21-4.
All other top contenders including top seed An Se Young, Chinese-Taipei Tai Tzu Ying, Spain’s Carolina Marin, China’s Chen Yufei and Pusarla V Sindu will take on the courts today (28 July).
Women’s Doubles
The upset of the day was created by Denmark’s pair Maiken Fruergaard/Sara Thygesen who dumped second seed Baek Ha Na/Lee So Hee of Korea 21-18, 9-21, 21-14 to strengthen their spots in Group D.
Top seed Chen Qing Chen/Jia Yi Fan were also given a hard time by Malaysian pair Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan before registering a 21-17, 22-20 win in 53 minutes.
Third seed Liu Sheng Shu/Tan Ning had no problem beating USA’s Annie Xu/Kerry Xu 21-11, 21-14 while fourth seed Nami Matsuyama/Chiharu Shida were also in no trouble after winning over Australian pair Setyana Mapasa/Angela Yu 21-18, 21-14.
It was a close tussle between two-time world doubles champion Japan’s Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nahgahara who eventually overcame before Apriyani Rahayu/Siti Fadhia Ramadhanti 24-22, 21-15 in a 56-minute Group A tie while the Stoeva sisters Gabriella and Stefani triumphed over Hong Kong China’s Yeung Nga Ting/Yeung Pui Lam 21-11, 21-13, 21-15 in a marathon 1 hour 11 minutes duel.
Korea’s Kim So Yeong/Kong Hee Yong had no problem overcoming Tanisha Crasto/Ashwin Ponnappa of India 21-18, 21-10 while Jongkolphan Kittitarakul/Rawinda Prajongjai of Thailand again frustrated the home fans after defeating France Margot Lambert/Anne Tran 12-21, 21-13, 21-15 in 69 minutes.
Mixed Doubles
Top seed Zhang Si Wei/Huang Yaqiong started strongly after beating home pair Thom Giquel/Delphine Delrue 21-14, 23-21 in 49 minutes.
Malaysian Chen Tang Jie/Toh Ee Wei were also in their elements, winning their first Group D match over Singaporean pair Terry Hee/Jessica Tan 23-21, 21-12 in 41 mins.
Thailand’s Deechapol Puavaranukroh/Sapsiree Teerattanachai, Thailand’s best bet in the mixed beat Netherland’s Robin Tabeling/Selena Piek 21-14, 21-16 while for third seed Seo Seung Jae/Chae Yu Jung of Korea, it was an easy stroll after defeating Algerian pair Koceila Mammeri/Tanina Violette Mammeri 21-10, 21-7 in their first Group B match.
While Hong Kong China Tang Chun Man/Tsi Yeng Suet had no problem beating Chinese Taipei’s Ye Hong Wei/Lee Chia Hsin 21-13, 21-13, Indonesian pair Rinov Rivaldi/Phiyta Haningtyas Mentari had to work overtime before registering their first win over Korean pair Kim Won Ho/Jeong Na Eun 22-20, 14-21, 21-19 in 64 minutes.
