Tokyo Olympics 2020 Badminton Prediction For Singles

Following the draw of the Tokyo Olympics 2020 – we can now start to see possible matchups in the last 16 and potentially into the finals for singles at least. Due to the random draw for the doubles, it will be hard to determine who will go through to the quarters, semi-finals and finals. But in any case, I thought I would throw my two cents in on my Tokyo Olympics 2020 Badminton prediction.

Also check out my predictions for:

• Men’s Doubles
• Mixed Doubles

I will do my best to predict the gold, silver and bronze medalists of the Tokyo Olympic games for each discipline. Of course, this is assuming there are no injuries or disqualifications which would alter the outcome. And I could be well off…or I could be a genius. The former probably, but the latter possible. Ok, let’s get into my predictions for singles.

Group Stages

The group stages look promising for all the seeded players but the Olympics is an interesting tournament. Lower ranked players will certainly have less global pressure on them compared to the seeded players but will put more pressure on themselves to be successful. This means they will come out fighting and we have the potential for an upset or two! Nevertheless, as ranking/history dictates, we expect the top players to be fairly comfortable in their group.

Beyond that, here’s how I predict the Olympics will play out.

Tokyo Olympics 2020 Badminton Prediction For Men’s Singles

Ones To Watch – Men’s Singles

Men’s singles is very competitive at the stage of last 16 as you would expect. With Kento Momota and Chou Tien Chen receiving a bye at this stage. I anticipate Kento Momota to go the full distance, taking the gold medal. En route, he could face Viktor Axelsen, another gold medal contender. However, Momota dominates their head to head. And as well as Axelsen was playing in the Thai tournaments earlier in the year and the All England 2020, the reduced competition did not paint a true picture of the likely competition he would face at the Olympics. Prior to covid, Momota was decisively better. Not to mention, Axelsen will have to get through China’s Shi Yu Qi or Jonatan Christie to get to the semi-finals. Not an easy task.

Shi Yu Qi has to bypass the aforementioned Indonesian Jonatan Christie in the round of 16. Yu Qi, who has been out of international competition since Covid broke out, is the more successful of the two players. However, Christie holds the advantage in head to head battles. This makes for a very interesting match.

The lower half of the draw is probably the one you would have wanted to avoid! For starters, Chen Long is likely to face off against Lee Zii Jia. Lee Zii Jia, known for his explosive attacking play and Chen Long is known for his patient play and solid defence.

This is a match that could go either way. For me, this will be a close game. Chen Long has all the years of experience, playing in an era in which he has faced Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei and bested them. While his age might be a factor, I think we can be sure, as defending champion – he’s unwilling to give up his crown so easily.

Meanwhile, Lee Zii Jia back in March was finding his form, beating Chen Long, Kento Momota and Viktor Axelsen on the way to the All England crown. However, it’s been a long time since competitive competition for all the players so the key is in their preparation.

China has a very deep pool of strong players, much deeper than Malaysia’s. So it would fairly safe to assume that Chen Long has the upper hand in that respect in terms of training competition. However, Lee Zii Jia will be out to prove that he can emulate Malaysia’s Hero Lee Chong Wei and perhaps, even go one better.

A Ginting will also face Anton Andersen in the quarter-finals. Perhaps the fastest men’s singles player on the circuit at the moment, his speed is a big advantage against Andersen. If Ginting can keep the pace up, I do not think he will not need three games to beat his Danish opponent. If it does go to three games, Ginting has a bit more in the tank than Andersen. I believe for Dane to win, he will have to do it in two games.

Lastly, we need to discuss Chou Tien Chen. He’s often underappreciated as a player not being particularly animated or perhaps not a crowd-pleaser. But I think he is certainly a medal contender. In my prediction, I have him as a silver medalist. He will have to get through Ginting to get there, but given that he dominates their head to head record, I anticipate he will be able to reach the finals.

Although Ginting is extremely quick, Chou Tien Chen is not unlike Chen Long in his patient play and excellent fitness. If he can absorb the attacking play from Ginting and let him tire himself out, as he has done in the past, CTC could find himself in his first Olympic final.

Medal Prediction

Gold: Kento Momota

Silver: Chou Tien Chen

Bronze: Anthony Ginting

Tokyo Olympics Badminton 2020 Prediction For Women’s Singles

Ones To Watch – Women’s Singles

Despite Chen Yu Fei being the number one seed, all eyes will be on Tai Tzu Ying who has had tremendous success in other tournaments. She also has a positive win-loss ratio against all other competitors in the top ten list, making her the favourite.

However, she faces the Thai Ratchanok Intatnon in the last eight. They actually have a fairly even head to head record: 15-14 in favour of the Taiwanese player. So you could argue that she is perhaps Tai’s biggest threat in the tournament.

Ratchanok herself has proven herself to be equal to TTY in many respects on the court. I think Tai plays a more intelligent game but Intanon plays well in attack and at the net. If she can control the net, Tai will be limited in her attack and deceptions.

Jumping back to Chen Yu Fei, it’s really hard to gauge her current standard. China effectively locked itself out of tournaments during Covid so we haven’t seen them perform for a while. Nonetheless, we can safely assume China’s preparations for the Olympics were rigorous.

Her style was patient and a willingness to keep the rally going until a clear winner emerged. However, as Morten Frost said, women’s singles is so competitive, if you don’t take half chances and take the initiative, you will not be able to compete with those that do. We might see CYF has worked on this to become a more attacking threat.

She will face An Seyoung first, the young Korean. Her lack of experience at big events might be her downfall but it might also mean she can play freely. It is impossible to completely remove the pressure, after all, this being the Olympics(!). But she will be considered a dark horse and not carry the presures of some of the higher-seeded and more experienced players. This might mean she’s more willing to go Gung Ho – a strategy that might just pay off. She’s certainly a dark horse medal contender.

The host country will be represented by two giants of the women’s game, Okuhara and Yamaguchi.

Okuhara, a former World Champion, All England Champion and Rio Bronze Medalist. She has had an illustrious career so far and will be aiming to go higher than bronze this time around. She certainly has the ability but must face her way through two Chinese players if she wants to get to the finals.

The first is likely to be He Bing Jiao and the second Chen Yu Fei. She enjoys a positive win-loss ratio against Bing Jiao and is almost on equal terms with Yu Fei (Yu Fei 5-4). However, it’s important to note Yu Fei has won five out of the last six. The one that Nomozi won, Yu Fei retired. So this will be a challenging quarter-final for Okuhara.

Yamaguchi on the other hand potentially faces PV Sindhu in the last eight and Tai Tzu Ying in the Semifinals should she get the better of the Indian. Both have a positive head to head against the Japanese player. She will have to be on top form to take down two very tough opponents consecutively. This is the Olympics though, you have to be prepared to face this level of competition. And if she’s nothing else, she is a fierce fighter and will give her all at her home county’s Olympic games.

Talking Of PV Sindu, the World Champion hasn’t seemed to perform at the same level since her historic win in Basel. Still, there’s no discounting her. She is a big presence on the court and uses her height well in her attacking play.

In 2016 Park Joo Bong had mentioned he believes the Indian women players were not as technically skilled as some of the other nations on the women’s tour. I don’t think he was wrong to say that. Even now, the Chinese, Tai Tzu Ying and Ratchanok possess greater technical skills. But that doesn’t always win matches. The Rio silver medalist’s tenacity on court, attacking play, experience and no doubt her new skills in defence place her in a position to potentially medal in a consecutive Olympics.

Medal Prediction

Gold: Tai Tzu Ying

Silver: Chen Yu Fei

Bronze: A. Yamaguchi

Conclusion

Of course, anything can happen at the Olympics and this prediction should just be taken with a grain of salt! These predictions were made off a general head to head analysis and gut feeling, nothing more! Do you agree with my prediction? Who do you think will be top of the podium? Let me know in the comments below!

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