Top facts about Badminton at the SEA Games in 2022 : Preview, schedule and stars to watch 

The badminton competition at the SEA Games 2022 (Postponed from 2021) because of COVID) runs from Friday 13 May to Saturday 21 Saturday May 2022, and will capture the attention of millions across the world.

No wonder when you have the likes of world champion Loh Kean Yew and Olympic champion Apriyani Rahayu ready to play.

Men's reigning champ Lee Zii Jia will not defend his title in Hanoi which makes Singaporean Loh the favourite in the men's singles for many.

And we'll see the usual five competitions of men's and women's singles, men's, women's, and mixed doubles, and there is also a men's and women's team competition.

Nine days of action-packed shuttling awaits, read on for a preview, schedule and where you can live stream the event.

Apriyani Rahayu back from injury at SEA Games

Tokyo 2020 women's doubles gold medallist Apriyani Rahayu is arguably the biggest name in the whole badminton competition, but she is returning from a calf injury.

The 23-year-old suffered the injury at the 2022 All England championships in March, and it kept her out of the Swiss and Korean Opens.

Her recovery "has been very good," Indonesia badminton's Head of the Development Riony Mainaky said, "the movement is normal. I asked the coach, she's very ready."

Rahayu joins other names like Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, Stephanie Widjaja, Siti Fadia and Silva Ramadhanti on the Indonesian team travelling to Hanoi.

SEA Games 2022 Men's singles Preview: Loh Kean Yew on fire

Reigning world champ Loh comes straight from the Thomas Cup in Bangkok where he was in superb form, winning all three of his singles matches in straight games.

Loh defeated Indonesia's World No.5 Anthony Ginting (21-13, 21-14), South Korea's Heo Kwang Hee (21-14, 21-12) and Thailand's Khosit Phetpradab (21-15, 21-18), but Singapore failed to advance beyond the group stages.

Now he wants to keep that hot streak going in Hanoi in search of a title he has yet to win, despite making his debut at the Singapore 2015 edition of the SEA Games.

“The badminton competition only starts later and I did not want to miss the opportunity to play for Singapore in the SEA Games,” the 24-year-old said.

He was runner-up at the last SEA Games losing out to Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia in the final in the Philippines.

Loh won't have an easy path to the top of the podium in Vietnam though, look out for Indonesia's 23-year-old riser Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo who made the Asia Championships semi-final recently - defeating Momota Kento along the way - and only lost to Jonatan Christie in semi-final.

Malaysia have sent Lim Chong King and Kok Jing Hong in the men's singles and Vietnam's challenger Nguyen Tien Minh is the big hope for the hosts.

Women's singles preview Badminton SEA Games 2021 in 2022

Keep an eye on Indonesia's 19-year-old Putri Kusuma Wardani (Putri KW) in the women's singles.

The talented teenager won the tournament in Orleans, France, recently, and also has Czech Open 2021, Bangladesh International 2021, and Spain Masters 2021 wins next to her name.

Nguyen Thuy Linh is the top-seeded Vietnamese player in the women's competition while Malaysia' challenge is led by 17-year-old Siti Nurshuhaini who helped Malaysia finish third at the Asian Team Championships early this year.

And by another 17-year-old, Loh Zhi Wei.

Badminton full schedule SEA Games 2022

Men's and women's team competition: May 13-16

Singles and doubles: May 17-22

Important: This is a provisional schedule and may be subject to change, consult the official website.

All times local in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Venue: Bac Giang Gymnasiums (No.2 Nghia Long, Tran Phu Ward, Bac Giang city)

Full schedule:

16/05

9:00-14:00 Women’s Team Preliminary Round / Quarter Finals
15h00 - 20:00 Men’s Team Preliminary Round / Quarter Finals

17/05

09:00 - 14:00 Women’s Team Semi Final
15:00 -19:30 Men’s Team Semi Final

18/05

13:00 -16:00 Women’s Team Final
18:00 -21:00 Men’s Team Final
21:10 -21:30 Victory Ceremony (Men’s Team Event)

19/05

9:00 - 21:00
Men’s Singles Round 16
Women’s Singles Round 16
Men’s Doubles Round 16
Women’s Doubles Round 16
Mixed Doubles Round 16

20/05
09h00 -17h00
Men’s Singles Quarter Finals
Women’s Singles Quarter Finals
Men’s Doubles Quarter Finals
Women’s Doubles Quarter Finals
Mixed Doubles Quarter Finals

21/05
13:00 - 18:00
Men’s Singles Semi Finals
Women’s Singles Semi Finals
Men’s Doubles Semi Finals
Women’s Doubles Semi Finals
Mixed Doubles Semi Finals

22/05
12:00
M/W/Mixed Finals to be played consecutively.

Badminton live stream SEA Games 2022

You can find live streaming and highlights on the SEA Games 31 Viet Nam 2021 YouTube channel, and on the official SEA Games 2021 Facebook page.

Some geo-restrictions may apply depending on where you are in the world, but you can follow all the action, live updates, news and exclusive interviews on Olympics.com and across our social channels @Olympics.