As the badminton knockouts begin at Paris Olympics 2024, four Indians are in contention for three medals to continue India's medal-winning streak that stretches back to London 2012. Here's how their path to medals in Paris may play out.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty - men's doubles
Men's doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who topped their group, are among the top pre-Games medal favourites.
Their draw for the knockout round was made on Wednesday, after the group stage action ended, and pits them against Group C runners-up Aaron Chia and Wooi Yik Soh of Malaysia, who won bronze at the last Olympics.
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The two pairs have history, facing each other 11 times on the BWF Tour with an 8-3 scoreline in the Malaysians' favour. The Malaysians won the first 8 times, prompting Chirag to call the rivalry a "nightmare" in late 2022. Beating them was a goal for the Indian pair in 2023 and they duly did that, winning three straight times, including in two of the biggest matches of their career - the Indonesia Open Super 1000 final, the Asian Games semifinals in 2023 and at the India Open earlier this year.
The quarterfinal at Paris though, will be the biggest of the lot, and recent form may mean nothing on the biggest of stages, where the Indians have less experience.
If they win, the potential semifinal will be the toughest match of all at Paris 2024 - against China's top seeds Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang. Reaching the semifinal puts them in medal position, but the Indian third seeds would want to go all the way.
On the other side of the draw as group toppers and potential final opponents are the reigning world champions Seo Seung Jae and Kang Min Hyuk as well as defending Olympic champions Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin.
This is the first time Sat-Chi are in the Olympic knockouts after they missed out in Tokyo on a three-way tie technicality, after beating the eventual champions in the group stage. This should be added motivation.
PV Sindhu - women's singles
Two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu, the 10th seed here, made it to the knockout stages comfortably by finishing on top in her group. Her real task begins now. First up in the round of 16 would be 6th seed He Bing Jiao of China, the player Sindhu had beaten in the bronze medal match at the Tokyo Olympics.
The Chinese leads 11-9 in their head-to-head, with post-2022 injury Sindhu not having the same level of success. Bing Jiao had beaten Sindhu at last year's Asian Games individual event too. However, Sindhu has never lost to Chinese players at the Olympics and World Championships.
A win would set up a quarterfinal clash against the defending Olympic champion and second seed Chen Yu Fei. Their head-to-head is a balanced 6-6 and Sindhu had pushed her to the brink at the Paris Olympic venue earlier this year at the French Open but couldn't get over the line at the end.
If she reaches the semifinal, she will face another familiar rival in Carolina Marin, a rematch of the Rio 2016 final, to win an unprecedented third medal. Sindhu has lost her 6 last matches against the Spaniard in a 5-11 head-to-head.
Top seed An Se Young is on the other side of the draw, while third seed Tai Tzu Ying was knocked out in the group stage.
Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy - men's singles
Lakshya Sen caused one of the biggest upsets, on paper, for India at Paris 2024 when he knocked out third seed and one of the medal favourites Jonatan Christie in the group stages.
The Indian world No 22 put away the lopsided head-to-head ratio and won in straight games to make it to the Round of 16 on his Olympic debut. Up next for him is a clash with fellow Indian HS Prannoy. This means that only one Indian will make it to the quarterfinals in men's singles.
The veteran needed three gamed to get past Le Duc Phat, the world No 70 from Vietnam, late on Wednesday night. He started slow but played himself in on the courts. However, this means that Lakshya will have fresher legs with hardly a full day to recover between matches.
Lakshya leads Prannoy 4-3 in their head-to-head and seems to have the advantage, but Prannoy cannot be counted out, especially with his experience and tactical advantage.
A win for either Indians puts them in the path of face fifth seed Kodai Naraoka (or 12th seed Chou Tien Chen) in the quarters. In the semis, they could face defending champion Viktor Axelsen or former world champion Loh Kean Yew or Chinese 6th seed Li Shi Feng.
A tough road but not an impossible hope for a first men's medal at the Olympics for Indian badminton.