The sixth tournament of the BWF World Tour 2021, the French Open is all set to get underway at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin in Paris, France. The marquee tournament will witness the likes of Kento Momota and Tokyo Olympics medallists Viktor Axelsen fight it out in the men’s singles. Surprisingly, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting withdrew from the tournament, the second Super 750 event he missed after the Denmark Open.
Tournament Details
- Tournament: Yonex French Open 2021
- Date: 26 to 31st October
- Entries: 32 in each category
- Venue: Paris, France
- Prize Money: USD 600,000
Top seed in Men’s singles
- Kento Momota
- Victor Axelson
- Ander Antonson
- Chou Tien Chen
- Lee Zii Jia
Top seeds in Women’s singles
- Akane Yamaguchi
- Ratchanok Intanon
- PV Sindhu
- An Se Young
In the women’s singles, Akane Yamaguchi and Ratchanok Intanon are the top two seeds. Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist PV Sindhu is seeded third followed by An Se-young and Pornpawee Chochuwong. Tokyo silver medallist Tai Tzu-Ying is the big gun who withdrew from the tournament in the eleventh hour.
Indian squad for French Open 2021
- Men’s singles: B Sai Praneeth, Kidambi Srikanth, Parupalli Kashyap, HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen, Sameer Verma, Sourabh Verma
- Women’s singles: PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal
- Men’s doubles: Chirag Shetty/Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, MR Arjun/Dhruv Kapila, Manu Attri/B Sumeeth Reddy
- Women’s doubles: Meghana Jakkampudi/Poorvisha S Ram, Ashwini Ponnappa/N Sikki Reddy
- Mixed doubles: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Ashwini Ponnappa, MR Arjuna/Maneesha K, Dhruv Kapila/N Sikki Reddy
Denmark Open 2021 Predictions
Men’s singles
The men’s singles events are all set to be a mouth-watering affair with the big guns clashing for the glory. Top seeds Momota and Denmark Open winner Axelsen seem to be the favorites for the title. Among others, Chou Tien-Chen and ace Malaysian shuttler Lee Zii Jia could produce an upset or two.
First Quarter
The top seed Kento Momota is in the first quarter and will easily make it to the semifinals. He will face his “bunny” Kidambi Srikant in the first round and Remus Gemke in the second-round match. In the quarterfinal, he may face Indian Sameer Verma.
First Quarterfinal Prediction: Sameer Verma Vs Kento Momota
Second Quarter
The third seed Ander Antonson will face a tough opponent Lee Cheuk Yiu in the first round. In this quarter Ng Ka Long Angus is expected to reach the quarterfinals.
Second Quarterfinal Prediction: Ng Ka Long Angus vs Ander Antonson
Third Quarter
Fourth seed Chou Tien Chen is expected to cruise through to the quarters. Three-time World junior champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn is the other shuttler who seem to be the favourite to challenge Chen. With three Indians, Kashyap, Pranoy and Sourabh Verma, in the quarter, there is a possibility of an upset or a two from them.
Third Quarterfinal Prediction: Kunlavut Vitidsarn vs Chou Tien Chen
Fourth Quarter
The two seeded players in the quarter, Jia and Axelson are expected to make it past the Round of 16. Budding Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen seems like the only candidate who might create an upset and topple the seventh seed in the second round.
Fourth Quarterfinal Prediction: Lee Zii Jia vs Victor Axelson
Women’s singles
The withdrawal of Tokyo 2020 Gold medallist Tzu-Ying has sprung the women’s singles title race wide open at the Super 750 tournament. Denmark Open champion Yamaguchi and Sindhu seem to be front runners for the time being. Se-young could emerge as a dark horse with the door wide ajar for the title.
First Quarterfinal Prediction: Akane Yamaguchi vs Pornpawee Chochuwong
Second Quarterfinal Prediction: An Se-Young vs Gregoria Mariska Tunjung
Third Quarterfinal Prediction: Busanan Ongbamrungphan vs PV Sindhu
Fourth Quarterfinal Prediction: Saina Nehwal vs Ratchanok Intanon
French Open 2021 Live Stream
The French Open 2021 live stream will be telecasted on the Star Sports 3 TV channel in India. French Open 2021 live streaming will also be available on the Disney+Hotstar website and app. For the residents of other nations, they enjoy the Denmark Open 2021 live streaming on the BWF TV Youtube Channel.
