Jakarta: Asian Games badminton team event draw concluded on Thursday and threw up some tantalizing clashes in the men’s category.
The unseeded Malaysian team was handed a tough draw as it would have to face 3/4 seeds Japan spearheaded by reigning World Champion Kento Momota in the first round.
Daren Liew lost to Momota in the World Championships semi-finals three weeks ago, would most likely face Momota in the first men’s singles match. Even if the Malaysians able to upset Japan, they would need to meet the winners of Korea and Thailand in the quarter-final. Just for the record, Korea is the defending champions.
The hosts and second seed Indonesia had a first round bye, and could potentially play India in the quarter-final.
Meanwhile, top favorites China also handed a first round bye and will face winners of Hong Kong and Mongolia in the quarter-finals. China is expected to clash with Taiwan in the semi-finals.
In the women’s team event, top seeds such as Japan, China, India and Thailand all had the first round bye and qualified for quarter-finals automatically.
Malaysia did not participate in the women’s team event, instead, its women’s shuttlers would compete in the individual events.
