Badminton at the Paris 2024 Olympics will start on July 27. With just three days left before competition in singles starts, ace shuttlers PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy, and Lakshya Sen practice together. Despite being ranked inside the Top 20, neither of the three is seen as medal prospects.
Sindhu has won a medal in the last two Olympics but has struggled on and off the court due to her constant injuries in the past 18 months. Lakshya, who was among the best players in 2022, has seen a major dip since that run and even took a break from the sport for a while last year to recharge himself. Aged 32, Prannoy will make his Olympic debut and hasn’t reached the quarterfinals in 12 of the 13 tournaments he’s played this year.
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Lakshya Sen will be India’s first single that’ll be in action. He’ll face Guatemala’s Kevin Cordón in Group L on July 27. Facing an opponent ranked 41 in the world isn’t the most difficult challenge, and we can expect the 22-year-old to make it to the next round fairly easily.
On July 28, HS Prannoy and PV Sindhu will commence their medal contention. The Tokyo silver medalist will face Maldives Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq, who’s not even ranked inside the top 100 at the moment in Group M. Prannoy will face Germany’s Fabian Roth in Group K, and he hopes he reaches the pre-quarters where he can face Lakshya.
