Badminton News: When the England players fail to medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in mixed teams, they will soon be back in action with competition in the individual events from Wednesday.
Two of England’s best players are competing and both will be able to take great confidence from the strong run that saw the team finish fourth in the combined event.
Toby Penty is about to return to the field in men’s singles and wants to go further in the draw. Seeded sixth, Penty will pass the first round and qualify immediately for the round of 16.
In the second round, the 29-year-old will face either Australian Nathan Tang or Kenyan Sammy Sikoyo, who will make his Olympic debut after going through three qualifying rounds for the right to represent his country.
If all goes to plan, Penty could meet third-seeded Kidambi Srikanth in the last eight at Birmingham.
Kidambi Srikanth will pose a huge challenge after becoming the first Indian player to reach the final of the World Men’s Singles Championships last year.
But if Walton’s player can match the level he showed in the mixed team event, he can beat anyone.
He also excelled on Tuesday against Singaporean men’s singles world champion Loh Kean Yew in Great Britain’s bronze medal match, losing just 23-25, 21-11 and 25-23 in one of best contests the 2022 Commonwealth Games have produced so far.
Penty also played some of his best badminton in his thrilling 21-19, 21-19 win over Brian Yang in the quarter-finals.
In women’s singles, the opportunity for England came from Freya Patel-Redfearn who was competing at her first Commonwealth Games after a year on the BWF World Tour.
He made a strong start to his career in the England team winning two of his three rubbers in the group stage of the mixed team event.
This included big wins over Tamisha Williams 21-6, 21-3 on the opening day of the Olympics, in front of a crowd of local fans at the NEC.
Her first stint in women’s singles came in the form of 2021 African champion Johanita Scholtz.
The South African also won gold at the 2019 Asian Games and has always been on the verge of a top 150 in the world for the past few years.
The winner of this match will face Sri Lankan badminton player Vidara Suhasni Vidanage in the second round.
Whatever the outcome, Patel-Redfearn will gain important Premier League experience at Birmingham as he continues his fledgling career.
Her teammate Abigail Holden was originally scheduled to join her in the women’s singles draw but was forced to pull out with a knee injury two weeks ago.
But the two England players, who will take charge of the pitch, will be hoping the home support can back them up as they look to go deeper into the draw.
Tags: England, Toby Penty, Loh Kean Yew, Commonwealth Games 2022
Published by Ligaolahraga.com at https://www.ligaolahraga.com/badminton/gagal-di-nomor-beregu-enggris-fokus-di-individual-commonwealth-games-2022
