BWF World Championships 2022 Draw On August 10
The TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2022 will be having its draw on August 10 at 3 pm (+8 GMT) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Badminton’s most prestigious non-team tournament boasts the best 64 men’s singles, and 48 women’s singles, as well as the 48 best pairs each in men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles, determining who is the best in each category.
The last BWF World Championships was held last year in Huelva, Spain. The defending champions in each category are Loh Kean Yew of Singapore (men’s singles), Yamaguchi Akane of Japan (women’s singles), Hoki Takurō and Kobayashi Yūgo of Japan (men’s doubles), Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan of China (women’s doubles), as well as Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand (mixed doubles).
Japan was adjudged the overall winner after claiming championships in two categories.
Among the victors in 2021, Jia and Chen are the only two-time gold medalists. They reached the top in 2017 in Scotland after defeating Fukushima Yuki and Hirota Sayaka in three games, 21-18, 17-21, 21-15. Last year, the Chinese pair beat the Korean duo of Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan, 21-16, 21-17.
Hoki and Kobayashi were runners up to Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Sitiawan of Indonesia in the last staging of the tournament in 2019 with a scoreline of 23-25, 21-9, 15-21. The former finally reached the pinnacle, winning against He Jiting and Tan Qiang of China, 21-12, 21-18.
Puavaranukroh and Taerattanachai were second behind Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong of China three years ago in Switzerland, 8-21, 12-21. The Thais got to experience the feeling on top after besting Watanabe Yūta and Higashino Arisa of Japan, 21-13, 21-14, two years later.
Yamaguchi previously finished third in 2018, beating PV Sindhu of India, 21-16, 24-22, in the bronze medal match. The current world number one tripped former world number one Tai Tzu-ying of Chinese Taipei, 21-14, 21-11 last year.
Loh is the only first-time podium finisher. He overcame Srikanth Kidambi of India, 21-15, 22-20, for the gold.
The country with the most entries this year is host Japan with 19 (31 players), followed by India with 17 (27 players). Indonesia is next with 16 (26 players), proceeded by Malaysia (15 – 26 players), China (14 – 20 players), and Thailand (14 – 18 players).
South Korea (17 players), Denmark (17 players), and Chinese Taipei (16 players) have 12 entries each. Vietnam sent one participant in men’s singles and two in women’s singles.
Countries with at least ten entries include Germany (14 players) and France (13 players). Hong Kong has seven entries comprising of ten players.
A total of 36 badminton players will be playing in more than one category. Adham Hatem Elgamal (men’s singles, men’s doubles, and mixed singles) and Doha Hany (women’s singles, women’s doubles, and mixed singles), both of Egypt, will be competing in three categories.
Some prominent names taking part in multiple events include Zhang Shuxian of China (women’s doubles, mixed doubles); Thailand’s Supak Jomkoh (men’s doubles and mixed doubles) and Taerattanachai (women’s doubles and mixed doubles); South Korea’s Shin (women’s doubles and mixed doubles) Choi Sol-gyu (men’s doubles and mixed doubles), and Seo Seung-jae (men’s doubles and mixed doubles); as well as Toma Junior Popov of France (men’s singles and men’s doubles).
This is the first time badminton’s world championship will be held in Japan, also the second east Asian country after China. The latter is the most successful nation in the tourney, having amassed a total of 67 gold medals, the only one that has managed to sweep all events in a single edition.
Indonesia is a far second with 23 first place finishes. They are the only country aside from China with the most golds in a single category (men’s doubles – ten). The Indonesians also have the most podium finishes after the east Asian powerhouse with 18 silvers and 36 bronzes.
The draw can be witnessed live on the official BWF YouTube channel. The TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2022 will be held from August 22-28 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in Japan.
