New Delhi: Indian shuttlers and World Championships bronze medallists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have been drawn in Group C for the men’s doubles badminton competition at the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics.
Satwik-Chirag, third in the badminton world rankings, were seeded and drawn in Group C, alongside the likes of Indonesian pair of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto, the only other top 10 ranked pair in the group.
The rest of the group consists of world No. 31 Mark Lamsfuss and Marvin Seidel of Germany and the world No. 43 French pair of Lucas Corvee and Ronan Labar, making this a favourable draw for the Indians, who will be looked up to as one of the favourites to compete for the gold.
History says the same too currently for the Indians, who have gotten the better of Alfian-Ardianto on 3 out of the 5 occasions they have faced off. The duo of Satwik-Chirag are also unbeaten against their German and French group-stage opponents.
Lady Luck seems to be on the side of the Indian shuttlers altogether, in general, this time around so far as two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and India’s top-ranked men’s singles player HS Prannoy also were on the receiving end of favourable group stage draws for the upcoming Olympics in Paris.
Sindhu will begin her Olympic campaign in Group M while Prannoy got drawn in Group K. World No. 13 Sindhu and Prannoy, seeded 13th, comfortably outrank all the opponents in their respective groups.
Luck doesn’t favour all though as the road for undecided Lakshya Sen will be one riddled with obstacles out the gate, as the Indian will face world No. 3 Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in Group L of the men’s singles.
But, if Prannoy and Sen both win their respective groups, they will face each other in the round of 16, making for a thrilling matchup.
In the women’s doubles, Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa have been drawn in Group C where they will take on fourth-seeded Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida of Japan.
