The Korean teams hold an autograph signing session before the finals of the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup

Compared to last month, there have been some slight changes in the rankings but none of the players in the top ten for May have lost their top 10 spot. Likewise, the top ranked players in each of the five disciplines stays the same (men’s singles: Lee Chong Wei; men’s doubles: Cai Yun/Fu Hai Feng; women’s singles: Wang Yi Han; women’s doubles: Wan Xiao Li/Yu Yang; mixed doubles: Zhang Nan/Zhao Yun Lei)

Korean men’s singles player Shon Wan Ho is on top form 

 Korea’s Uber Cup 2012 women’s singles player Sung Ji Hyun

The Thomas Cup and Uber Cup Finals 2012 held in Wuhan, China

The most important international badminton event in May was undoubtedly the biennale Thomas Cup and Uber Cup Finals. The Thomas Cup and Uber Cup not only represent a nation’s badminton power they are also a chance to grab some world ranking points so every team’s players were keen to do well. The winning teams from the February Asian qualifying tournament went head to head in Wuhan in mid-May in the finals.

Korea’s men’s doubles pair Lee Yong Dae and Ko Sung Hyun

World-ranked No. 6, Korea’s women’s doubles pair Kim Ha Na / Jung Kyung Eun

Korea take second place in the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup

Korea faced China in the final of the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup. This seemingly predestined encounter between these two powerhouses of world badminton brought out the best in the players on both sides.

The Korean’s had several opportunities to win, however, the skill and determination of the Chinese plus the deafening home support put the Koreans under enormous pressure and, in the end, China took both the Thomas Cup and the Uber Cup and Korea had to settle for the runners-up stop in both.

Reaching the finals of the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup gave the players welcome ranking points. The ranking of Lee Yong Dae / Jung Jae Sung, Ko Sung Hyun / Yoo Yeon Seong,world-ranked second and fourth respectively, stayed the same.

In the women’s doubles Ha Jung Eun / Kim Min Jung kept onto their impressive third spot in the world rankings, while Jung Kyung Eun / Kim Ha Na saw their ranking shoot up to sixth in one fell swoop! Korean’s top men’s singles player Lee Hyun Il is ranked 7th and No. 2 player Shon Wan Ho is ranked 13th.

Chinese Taipei’s women’s doubles pair : Hsieh Pei Chen / Wang Pei Rong

Chinese Taipei’s first women’s singles player : Tai Tzu Ying 

Chinese Taipei’s women’s team makes the last eight

In the Uber Cup Final, Chinese Taipei’s 18-year Tai Tzu Ying  had the heavy responsibility of being the first singles player, having to face the opposition’ strongest player in each match.

She beat the Netherlands’ first singles player Yao Jie and Thailand’s first singles player Ratchanok Inthanon. Against top international opposition, her skill and calmness under pressure allowed her to deliver an impressive score sheet with two wins and one loss.

After defeating Thailand, Chinese Taipei joined the ranks of the world’s top eight countries. Although they went down to Korea they still showed Chinese Taipei’s badminton power.

Cheng Wen Hsing / Chien Yu Chin rank 10th in the world, while Tai Tzu Ying rank 13th in the women’s single. Lee Sheng Mu / Fang Chieh Min rank 9th in the men’s doubles and Cheng Wen Hsing / Chen Hung Lin keep their 5th spot in the mixed doubles.

BWF World Rankings for May 2012