Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy have been handed relatively easy groups for the Paris Games, which begin on July 26.
Sindhu, a silver medallist at the Rio Games and bronze medallist in Tokyo, is seeded 10th. The World No. 13 is in Group M of the women's singles, alongside Estonia's Kristin Kuuba (WR 75) and Maldives' Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq (WR 111). While Sindhu has a manageable group, she could face China's sixth seed He Bing Jiao in the round of 16.
If she advances, she is likely to meet Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei of China in the quarterfinals. At 29, Sindhu's journey to a third Olympic medal will require a special effort, given her challenging lead-up to the Olympics.
Prannoy, making his Olympic debut, is seeded 13th and will compete in Group K of the men's singles against Vietnam's Le Duc Phat (WR 70) and Germany's Fabian Roth (WR 82).
The second Indian in the men's singles, Lakshya Sen, ranked 19th, is in Group L. Lakshya will face tough competition from third seed and World No. 3 Jonatan Christie of Indonesia, Guatemala's Kevin Cordon (WR 41), and Belgium's Julien Carragi (WR 52). Lakshya has a challenging 1-4 head-to-head record against Christie, with the Indonesian having won twice this year.
If both Prannoy and Lakshya top their groups, they will meet in the round of 16.
The World No. 19 pairing of Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa face a tough challenge in Group C of the women's doubles event. They are up against Japan's World No. 4 Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida, South Korea's Tokyo Olympics bronze medallists Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong (WR 7), and Australia's Setyana Mapasa and Angela Yu (WR 27).
India's best medal hope in badminton comes from the men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, seeded third.
However, the men's doubles draw for the Paris Olympics was postponed due to a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) hearing regarding the number of pairs in the draw. The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has yet to confirm the new date for the draw.
The badminton events at the Olympics will begin on July 27.
