Kuala Lumpur: After months of uncertainty in the badminton world caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) has published the Swiss Open draw in full as Viktor Axelsen of Denmark was seeded top in men’s singles and Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia got the second seed.
The World No. 2 Axelsen will bid for his second Swiss Open title (he won the 2014 edition) and 3rd title in 2021 (he won both the YONEX and Toyota Thailand Open in January 2021) without rivals World No. 1 Kento Momota and World No. 3 Anders Antonsen.
Axelsen’s potential road to the final could include Son Wan Ho of Korea in the quarter-finals and may face Kidam Srikanth of India or Daren Liew of Malaysia in the semi-finals.
The bottom half is headlined by No. 2 seed Lee Zii Jia and No. 3 seed Rasmus Gemke of Denmark.
Both China and Japan have pulled out from the Swiss Open due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Japan national team has originally registered for the German Open that was scheduled to take place from March 9, 2021, to March 14, 2021, unfortunately, the event was canceled last week because the German government has extended its coronavirus lockdown until March 14.
In women’s singles, No. 1 seed Carolina Marin of Spain will begin the quest for her first Swiss Open title by taking on Natalia Perminova of Russia in the first round in Basel, while No. 2 seed PV Sindhu of India will open against Neslihan Yigit of Turkey.
Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik and Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying of Malaysia were seeded top in both men’s doubles and mixed doubles respectively. Chia/Soh will face Oliver Leydon-Davis/Abhinav Manota of New Zealand while Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying will meet Nipitphon Phuangphuapet/Benyapa Aimsaard in the first round.
The 2021 Swiss Open will take place in Basel, Switzerland, from March 2, 2021, to March 7, 2021.
