Kuala Lumpur: World No. 1 women’s singles player Carolina Marin and the Olympic defending champion Li Xuerui have fallen into the same half of the 2016 Rio Olympic draw.
Carolina Marin was placed in Group A, in the same group with her were Nanna Vainio, Line Kjaersfeldt, while Li Xuerui was grouped together with Iris Wang, Telma Santos, and Lianne Tan in Group E.
However, before reaching the semi-finals, Li Xuerui would have to overcome India’s Saina Nehwal in quarter-finals.
On the other half of the draw, World No. 2 Wang Yihan was drawn into Group P. Wang Yihan would need to see off Tai Tzu Ying, P. V. Sindhu to set up a semi-final clash with either Ratchanok Intanon or Nozomi Okuhara in the semi-finals.
Different than its prior editions, China is no longer a dominant force in the Olympic women’s singles event. None of the top 10 women’s singles players has clear advantage over each other, and there are about 9 to 10 women’s singles players who are capable of winning the Rio Olympic gold medal. The key to winning the gold medal depends on how they perform under pressure.
