Beijing: Zhang Jun, President of the Chinese Badminton Association, stated that the target for the China team at the Paris Olympics is “to secure two golds, aim for three, and strive for four.”
At the Tokyo Olympics, the Chinese badminton team won 2 gold (women’s singles – Chen Yufei, mixed doubles – Wang Yilyu/Huang Dongping) and 4 silver medals (men’s singles – Chen Long, men’s doubles – Li Junhui/Liu Yuchen, women’s doubles – Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan, mixed doubles – Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong). This time, China is the only team that has a maximum of two players or two pairs qualified to participate in all categories, and they have medal potential in all five events.
In men’s singles, Shi Yuqi has shown excellent form this season, but Viktor Axelsen of Denmark has been the dominant player in this category since winning the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Indonesian star Jonatan Christie is also a strong contender for gold, with other notable players like Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Thailand), Kodai Naraoka (Japan), Anthony Sinisuka Ginting (Indonesia), Anders Antonsen (Denmark), and Lee Zii Jia (Malaysia) also expected to compete for medals.
In women’s singles, players like Chen Yufei, Tai Tzu-ying, An Se-young, Akane Yamaguchi, and Carolina Marin all have gold medal potential. An Se-young, currently the world number one, is dealing with injuries, while defending champion Chen Yufei has been in good physical condition, with health and consistency being her greatest assets.
For women’s doubles and mixed doubles, the pairs of Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan and Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong have already earned numerous honors but lack Olympic gold. Both pairs narrowly missed gold in the finals of the Tokyo Olympics. Chen/Jia’s main competitors are Korea’s Baek Ha-na/Lee So-hee and Japan’s Nami Matsuyama/Chiharu Shida, while Zheng/Huang will face challenges from the 2023 World Champions, Korea’s Seo Seung-jae/Chae Yu-jung, and their teammates and World No. 2 Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dongping. It’s worth mentioning that Huang Dongping and her previous partner Wang Yilyu defeated Zheng/Huang in the final of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Therefore, Huang is very experienced in winning in the Olympics.
The men’s doubles event is the hardest to predict. Top seeds Liang Weikeng/Wang Chang, Korea’s Kang Min-hyuk/Seo Seung-jae, India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty, Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto, Denmark’s Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, and Malaysia’s Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik all have the capability to win gold.
The badminton events at the Paris Olympics will take place from July 27 to August 5.
