Asian Games 2018 | India clashes with Japan in women's team badminton event, men face Maldives

India has been handed a tough draw as they will be taking on Japan in the quarter-finals of Asian Games. If Indian women’s badminton squad is successful in beating Japan, they will be probably face either of the three teams, Korea, Hong Kong or Indonesia in the semifinals match. Japan, Korea, India, and Indonesia have been placed in the top half of the draw, while China, Chinese Taipei, Thailand occupy the bottom half of the draw as powerful teams.

The Indian men's badminton team will be facing Maldives as they open their Asian Games campaign. Their win would ensure them an encounter with Indonesia team, who have direct entry to the quarter-finals after receiving a bye in the first-round. Similar to Indonesia, China has also been given a bye to play directly in the quarter-finals.

Korea, on the other hand, will be facing Thailand in their Opening match of the tournament, while Japan and Malaysia will also be clashing on the opening day.

In the team event, there will be a knock-out procedure. So, if the team loses one match, they will be out of contention. A best of five format will be followed while determining the results of the match. The individual draw will be conducted after the team event finals on August 22.

Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy will be leading the men's team, while PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal will be leading the women's team. Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy will be forming a pair for men's doubles event and Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy will play in the women's doubles event.