After an exciting stopover in Europe, the badminton train is now heading to Asia for the highly anticipated Li Ning China Open. This Premier Superseries event is set to showcase the best of the best in the world of badminton.
Today’s qualifying round matches have given us a glimpse of the talent that will be on display in the main draw starting tomorrow. Rising stars such as Nichaon Jindapon from Thailand and Suo Di from China have secured their spots in the Women’s Singles main draw. In the Men’s Singles, Kento Momota from Japan, Tian Houwei, and Qiao Bin from China will also be competing in the main draw.
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Kento Momota, the reigning World Junior champion, sailed through the qualifiers with ease. He even received a walkover in the first round and defeated Thailand’s Pisit Poodchalat 21-18 21-10 to secure his place in the main draw. Momota will be facing Hong Kong’s Hu Yun in his first match.
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Tian Houwei, who finished as the runner-up at the Russian Grand Prix in July, showcased his skills in the qualifiers by defeating his teammate Guo Kai 21-11 21-9. Qiao Bin also impressed with his victory over Riichi Takeshita from Japan with a score of 21-11 21-17. Gao Huan, a former World Junior runner-up, rounded out the Chinese qualifiers by overcoming a tough challenge from Zhou Wenlong with a score of 15-21 21-18 21-16.
In the Women’s Singles, China once again dominated the qualifiers with three athletes making it to the main draw. Suo Di, Xuan Deng, and former World Champion Wang Lin secured their spots, as did Thailand’s Nichaon Jindapon, who had a thrilling match against another Chinese prospect, Yu Sun, and emerged victorious with a score of 21-17 8-21 21-18.
With the absence of Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei, who recently got married, the top seed for the China Open is world No. 3 Chen Long. Chen Long will be facing his compatriot Qiao Bin in the opening match. Both singles draws are heavily dominated by Chinese players, making it challenging for non-Chinese contenders to come out on top. The Men’s Singles draw features strong players like Chen Jin (2), Du Pengyu (4), and Wang Zhengming, in addition to Gao Huan, Tian Houwei, Qiao Bin, and Chen Yuekun. However, Denmark’s Jan O Jorgensen (8), Indonesia’s Sony Dwi Kuncoro, and recent French Open champion Daren Liew will be hoping to make their mark. India’s Parupalli Kashyap, who famously defeated Chen Long at the Indonesia Open in June, is also a strong contender.
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In the Women’s Singles, the lineup heavily favors the home players. Wang Yihan and Li Xuerui, the top two seeds, are joined by the three qualifiers and other notable players such as Wang Shixian (4), Jiang Yanjiao (8), Han Li, Chen Xiao Jia, and Liu Xin. However, all eyes will be on India’s PV Sindhu, who made headlines by defeating Olympic champion Li Xuerui at the China Masters, and Japan’s World Junior Champion Nozomi Okuhara. French Open champion Minatsu Mitani, the retiring star Tine Baun, and Bitburger Open champion Juliane Schenk are potential challengers who could give the favorites a tough time. Unfortunately, Olympic bronze medalist Saina Nehwal will be absent from the event.
In the doubles category, one of the main points of interest will be China’s Ma Jin. Ma Jin will be competing in both Mixed Doubles with Xu Chen and Women’s Doubles with Tang Jinhua. The question on everyone’s minds is whether Ma Jin can secure another Superseries title or even achieve the impressive feat of winning both categories, as she did in the last two Superseries events in Denmark and France.
Stay tuned for all the exciting action at the Li Ning China Open, where the world’s top badminton players will battle it out for glory.
Written by Dev Sukumar
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