TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2022 draw produces interesting results
The draw for the TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2022 which was held on August 10 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia had interesting outcomes for the weeklong badminton tournament.
Men’s singles
World number one Viktor Axelsen of Denmark would be facing Liew Daren of Malaysia in the first round. Loh Kean Yew of Singapore would begin his defense of the crown by facing Pablo Abián of Spain.
Meanwhile, Anthony Ginting is in the same section as Axelsen and the two could clash in the quarter-finals. But first, the Indonesian has to hurdle Ygor Coelho of Brazil in the first round and either Georges Paul of Mauritius or Luis Montoya of Mexico in the succeeding stage.
Another Indonesian in the top half of the draw, Jonatan Christie has Toma Junior Popov of France as his first assignment.
Over in the bottom half of the bracket, there are three Indian shuttlers in the last section, with Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy possibly meeting in the third round. Whoever emerges there would have Srikanth Kidambi to contend with in the following phase.
Kunlavut Vitidsarn encounters 33rd-ranked Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia. The Thai’s next-seeded opponent is most likely to be Anders Antonsen of Denmark.
Fifth seed Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia is guaranteed to face a European for the first two rounds. Crowd favorite Momota Kento goes the opposite against Lino Muñoz of Mexico.
Women’s singles
Reigning titlist Yamaguchi Akane of Japan awaits in the second round the victor between Kirsty Gilmour of Scotland and Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia. Former number one Tai Tzu-ying kicks off her campaign against a badminton player from Europe.
Together in the second section are An Se-young of South Korea and PV Sindu of India. They are not set to collide until the quarter-final round.
Phittayaporn Chaiwan could see herself going up against a fellow Thai in Ratchanok Intanon in the second round if she defeats Pai Yu-po of Chinese Taipei. Another all-Thai skirmish is in the offing, this time in the quarters with Pornpawee Chochuwong possibly advancing up to that point.
Men’s doubles
Hoki Takurō and Kobayashi Yūgo of Japan would commence their title defense from the bottom of the draw. The rest of the seeded entries in their section are from Asia (Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong of Malaysia, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty of India, Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Bagas Maulana of Indonesia).
There are four Malaysian teams, all of them seeded, that qualified in this edition. However, three of them are in the bottom half, with two of those in the same section.
This is the same case for Indonesia, as top seeds Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo could conceivably meet a compatriot in the quarters, semis, and final.
Women’s doubles
Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan of China, the defending champs and current number one, have a relatively easy path until the semi-finals, where the Korean pair of Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan could be waiting for them.
Tenth seeds Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan might see another duo of Malaysians at the other end of the court in their first match if Low Yeen Yuan and Valeree Siow win against Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand of India in the previous round.
A similar situation can happen between the Korean teams of ninth seeds Jeong Na-eun and Kim Hye-jeong as well as fourth ranked Kim So-yeong and Kong Hee-yong on the third round.
Mixed doubles
Last year’s first placers Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand open their campaign with a bye to the second round. All eyes are on the final though with top-ranked Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong of China in the other side of the bracket.
For those who missed it live, the TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2022 draw can be viewed here.
M88 Mansion, a major sponsor of select BWF tournaments, will be on hand to provide updates, highlights, and features of this year’s World Championships. Follow the BWF-M88 Mansion social media accounts for more information.
Author Details
JP is an all-around sportswriter who covered the Bingo Bonanza Philippine Gold Grand Prix 2009. Aside from BWF badminton he follows football, basketball, and pro wrestling.
