Top contenders are missing the tournament, including 2017 champion Axelsen of Denmark and world No. 2 Shi of China in men's singles, defending champion Marin of Spain, all due to injury.
Lin Dan of China competes during the men's singles second round match between Lin Dan of China and Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei at the Indonesia Open 2019 badminton tournament in Jakarta, Indonesia on July 18, 2019. (Xinhua/Du Yu)
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The 2019 Badminton World Championships will serve as a proving ground for China's shuttlers ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, after the draw was made at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) headquarters here on Monday.
The electronic draw lined up a total of 383 shuttlers who will contest this year's championships held in Basel, Switzerland.
Among the top players scheduled to face-off in the first round of the men's singles include China's Lin Dan, who has been paired against Tien Minh Nguyen of Vietnam.
Tien Minh Nguyen of Vietnam hits a return during the men's singles semi-final match against Hsu Jen Hao of Chinese Taipei at 2018 Singapore Badminton Open held at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore, on July 21, 2018. Hsu Jen Hao won by 2-0. (Xinhua/Then Chih Wey)
The women's singles will see 16 seeded entries receiving an automatic bye to the second round, including world No. 1 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan, as well as China's top women's singles shuttlers Chen Yufei, Han Yue, He Bingjiao and Cai Yanyan.
BWF Secretary General Thomas Lund said the Chinese team had a strong line-up of players, adding that he expected the country's shuttlers to bag multiple medals over the course of the tournament.
Nozomi Okuhara of Japan competes during the women's singles final against Akane Yamaguchi of Japan at Japan Open 2019 badminton tournament in Tokyo, Japan, on July 28, 2019. Akane Yamaguchi won 2-0. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)
"I think the Chinese team, as usual, will be doing great. They have a fantastic team, all the time being pressured by the other countries," Lund told Xinhua.
"I think it's fascinating to see a discipline like the women's singles, where China has dominated. They still have fantastic players and I think China has a good chance to take medals, and maybe even win it," he added.
Missing from this year's championships are three top singles contenders for the world title: 2017 champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and world No.2 Shi Yuqi of China in the men's singles, as well as defending women's singles champion Carolina Marin of Spain, all of whom pulled out of the championships due to injury.
Carolina Marin of Spain returns the shot during the women's singles final match against Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand at the Malaysia Masters 2019 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Jan. 20, 2019. (Xinhua/Chong Voon Chung)
Shi suffered an ankle injury at the Indonesia Open last month and has not been able to recover in time for Basel. He was runner-up to Kento Momota at the most recent World Championships in Nanjing, China.
