VICTOR World Tour Guide: World Championships

2014-08-22

2014 World Championships | August 25-31 | Copenhagen, Denmark

VICTOR STAR to watch: Lee Yong Dae
Lee Yong Dae, Yoo Yeon Seong
Lee Yong Dae (right) reaches World No.1 with a third different partner, Yoo Yeon Seong.
 
Recently celebrated a hat-trick of consecutive Superseries victories and rose to BWF World No.1 with Yoo Yeon Seong, the Korean doubles star’s only crown of the “world champion” has to date back to 2008, and it was in the mixed doubles. Lee earned a gold medal with Lee Hyo Jung in Beijing Olympics, however, despite having topped the world ranking list in the men’s doubles with three different partners over the years (previously with Jung Jae Sung and Ko Sung Hyun), Lee is still in anticipation of a “world champion” title in this discipline. This year, though, it looks like the odds are heavily stacked in their favor.
 
Lee Yong Dae, Jung Jae Sung
Former men's doubles World No.1 team, Jung Jae Sung (left) and Lee Yong Dae.
 
Lee Yong Dae, Ko Sung Hyun
Former men's doubles World No.1 team, Ko Sung Hyun (left) and Lee Yong Dae.

Player to beat
Hometown hero Jan O Jorgensen, winner of the BCA Indonesian Open, will be among the favorites. He has beaten some top names, including Lin Dan, Chen Long and Kenichi Tago, all in this season and has moved up the ranks to a career high No.3.

Record to be made
Korea has never won any singles title at this prestigious event. Sung Ji Hyun will certainly try to make her country proud again this time. At the 2014 Badminton Asia Championships, she became the first Korean “Asian champion” in 10 years in the singles event, men’s or women’s.
 
Sung Ji Hyun
2014 Asian champion Sung Ji Hyun is ready to write history again.

Match not to miss
Li Xuerui, the No.1 ranked women’s singles player, is on an impeccable three-win streak and looking to add a second world championship to her bag. She has made the finals in the last two occasions, winning the gold in London Olympic Games in 2012, but losing to Thai teen Ratchanok Inthanon in dramatic fashion last year. Li could be facing India’s Saina Nehwal in the quarters and Sung Ji Hyun or Intanon in the semi-finals.

Did you know?
This will be a leading fourth time that Copenhagen hosts the World Championships, having hosted the 1983, 1991 and 1999 editions of the tournament.
 
 
( Edit by VICTOR Badminton )