July 15 2024
Team GB’s Paris-bound badminton trio have discovered who they will take on following the Olympic draw.
The men’s doubles will see Ben Lane and Sean Vendy in Group A alongside world no.1 pair Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who they defeated at the 2022 French Open.
The Chinese pair have won both meetings since and Lane and Vendy will be determined to topple the top seeds on the biggest stage.
The group stage will also include a Commonwealth Games reunion as Tokyo bronze medallists Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, of Malaysia, also line up in Group A.
Lane and Vendy were victorious in Birmingham, winning the semi-final in front of a superb home atmosphere, and will look to repeat the feat.
Canada’s Adam Dong and Nyl Yakura, who were also beaten by Lane and Vendy at the Commonwealth Games two summers ago, complete the group, with matches to be played between July 27-30.
Ready for #Paris2024! 🇫🇷 A tough draw for Ben and Sean in Group A of the MD, but they’ve conquered these pairs before and hopefully can do so again! 💪🔥 Let’s go team!
Bring on Paris 💪#TeamGB #Badminton
📸 @badmintonphoto pic.twitter.com/P1eIUV3C3E
— Badminton England (@BadmintonEnglnd) July 15, 2024
In the women’s singles, Kirsty Gilmour was placed in Group N as the draw was carried out at the Badminton World Federation headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.
The men’s doubles draw, which will feature Ben Lane and Sean Vendy, was postponed following a Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) hearing and will take place at a later date.
The last name to be drawn out, Gilmour will face the sixth seed He Bing Jiao of China and Azerbaijan’s Keisha Fatimah Azzahra in the women’s singles group stages.
Gilmour has twice beaten the world No. 8 He with her most recent victory coming at the 2017 World Championships.
.@KirstyGilmourr will head to @Paris2024 for her third Olympics with one interesting ambition…
Not being afraid to lose 🏸
— Team GB (@TeamGB) May 30, 2024
He has won the four most recent meetings between the two players, including at June’s Indonesia Open.
Gilmour, who is ranked 24th in the world, has only faced Azzahra once previously, winning in straight games at last year’s European Women’s Team Championships Qualification in Azzahra’s home country.
The Bellshill shuttler is competing at her third Olympic Games, having represented Team GB in the women’s singles at both Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
She is yet to make it out of the group stage with injury hampering her Rio campaign before being drawn against home favourite and fourth seed Akane Yamaguchi in Tokyo.
Only the top finisher in each of the 13 groups advances to the round of 16, with the highest finisher in the groups containing the three top seeds earning an automatic place in the quarter-finals.
The badminton will take place at Porte de la Chapelle Arena with the competition beginning on 27 July and concluding on 5 August.
