Li Shifeng lies in wait for Loh Kean Yew despite positive Olympic draw for S’pore players

SINGAPORE – Singapore badminton players enjoyed favourable group-stage draws for the Paris 2024 Olympics, but will have to slay some giants if they want to go far and win a historic medal.

In the 41-strong men’s singles, world No. 10 Loh Kean Yew is among the 13 seeded players and avoided higher-ranked opponents after being drawn in Group M with El Salvador’s 50th-ranked Uriel Canjura and Czech Republic’s world No. 64 Jan Louda.

However, if the seeds hold, the 27-year-old is expected to face China’s world No. 6 and Asian Games champion Li Shifeng in the round of 16, before a possible tantalising quarter-final against his good friend Viktor Axelsen, who is Denmark’s world No. 2 and the defending Olympic champion.

Loh has a superior 4-2 head-to-head record against Li, who has won their last two encounters, and trails Axelsen 8-2.

He said: “I’m happy with the outcome of the draw but that doesn’t mean I can underestimate my group opponents. I will focus on one match at a time because every match is just as important. Anything can happen at the Olympics, so I’ll prepare myself to the fullest that I can.”

The draw was held at the Badminton World Federation headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on July 12.

In the women’s singles, world No. 20 Yeo Jia Min sneaked in as the last of 13 seeded players in the 39-strong field after Thailand’s 2013 world champion Ratchanok Intanon slipped from 18th to 21st in the July 9 world rankings used to determine the seedings.

The 25-year-old’s good fortune was extended to the draw where she will face unheralded Group I opponents – Mauritius world No. 96 Kate Foo Kune and Iran-born Dorsa Yavarivafa, who is ranked 993rd and will play for the Refugee Olympic Team. If she progresses to the last 16, Yeo could face Japan’s 10th-ranked Aya Ohori, whom she has not beaten in three tries.

Admitting to some nervy calculations before the rankings were released, Yeo said: “I felt I had a good chance of being seeded this time. I don’t know my opponents well, but I’ll make sure I prepare myself well for the competition.”

Loh and Yeo made their Olympic debuts in 2021 in Tokyo, where the unseeded duo were eliminated after the group stage with one win and one loss.

In the mixed doubles, husband-and-wife duo Terry Hee and Jessica Tan will fancy their chances of making the last eight. They are in Group D alongside China’s world No. 2 Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping, Malaysia’s ninth-ranked Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei and world No. 30 Americans Vinson Chiu and Jennie Gai.

The top two from each of the four groups advance to the quarter-finals, and while the world No. 18 pair have lost their two previous meetings with the Chinese in 2023, they will be optimistic about beating the Americans – one of only three lower-ranked pairs – and overturn the three-game defeat in their only encounter with the Malaysians in March.

Tan, 30, who will hope to sufficiently recover from her ankle and hip injuries, said: “There have been improvements but it’s been really tricky to manage my training intensity without further worsening it or compensating on other areas.”

The four Singaporean players will be travelling to Copenhagen, Denmark, on July 13 for a centralised training camp before they head to Paris on July 23. The Olympic badminton competition begins at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena from July 27 to Aug 5.

Singapore Badminton Association technical director Martin Andrew said: “The draw has been favourable for us.

“In the two singles events, there were some dangerous players who are not seeded, and we have avoided them.

“Jia Min could have a tough challenge against Aya Ohori from Japan in the last 16, but if she can perform well, it is winnable. Assuming he can win his group, Kean Yew will have a tough last-16 test against Li Shifeng, and a quarter-final against Viktor Axelsen which he will certainly relish.

“It will be a good challenge for our mixed doubles pair, but if they can step up on the biggest stage then they have a chance to advance as one of the top two in the group.”

Meanwhile in athletics, Singapore’s Shanti Pereira will run in the women’s 100m and 200m, after World Athletics finalised its Road to Paris rankings on July 7 and confirmed the 27-year-old has qualified for the century sprint based on world ranking.

In the women’s 100m, the top 56 – comprising those who met the entry standard of 11.07 seconds and the highest-ranked runners who did not – will secure an Olympic berth. She was 42nd with her national record of 11.20sec. Pereira had earlier met the 200m entry standard of 22.57sec.