After 12 months of hard work and sweat, that saw every shuttler put his best foot forward in each of the tournaments, we are almost ready for the start of the 31st edition of the Olympic Games, to be hosted by the Brazilian city of Rio De Janerio.
The badminton event at the Games promises to be an excitng affair with the best in the present game descending to Brazil and the shuttle-loving public are surely in for a treat.
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Considered to be the greatest player to have graced the game, Lin Dan will be hoping to repeat his exploits from London 2012 where he won his second consecutive Gold, defeating Lee Chong Wei in the final.
In what will in all probability be his last Olympics, The 33-year-old will certainly be motivated to finish on a high by winning his third consecutive Gold medal.
Joining him in the veteran’s list, who could win an Olympic medal will the Lee, who also is likely to feature in his final Summer Games. Age seems to be only a number for this Malaysian, who won his 10th Superseries Premier title on home turf earlier this year and will now look to get that Olympic gold that has eluded him thus far.
Giving the experienced hands company will be current World No.2 and defending World champion Chen Long, who will look to continue the Chinese tradition of winning at the Summer Games. The 28-year-old has lost in the quarters and semifinals of a few events in 2016 and will look to go to the podium for a second time at Rio, after winning the bronze in London.
Following their Thomas Cup win earlier this year, the Denmark team certainly deserves a look in for a podium finish. The likes of Viktor Axelson and Jan O Jorgenson can pose a threat to the best in the game and cannot be taken lightly by the rest of the pack.
Parupalli Kashyap had told Sportskeeda last week that he expected the Women’s Singles event to be an open event with atleast 8 shuttlers in the reckoning to win the gold medal. Reigning champion Li Xuerui will be a top contender to retain her gold and giving her tough competition will be Carolina Marin, who will look to put in a fine performance in her maiden Olympics.
Wang Yihan will look to change the colour of her medal from silver to gold and Ratchanak Intanon, who has had such a fine year in the Superseries will look to win her maiden Olympic medal at Rio.
Tzu Ying Tai is always a difficult opponent to deal with at any competition and she, slong with Nozomi Okuhara will be the dark horse.
It promises to be an exciting 10 days of matches at Rio and hopefully, it will an event to remember for all.
