Ko Sung Hyun/ Lee Yong Dae are ranked No. 2 in the world just six months after joining forces in the men’s doubles

 

The most important events of April were the Badminton Asia Championships and the Indian Open Super Series. Last year’s India Open was the last tournament to offer  qualifying points for the London Olympics so a lot depended on each game and every player tried their best to win, making every match a tense affair for spectators.

This year isn’t an Olympic year but the Indian Open matches were still hard fought and exciting! 

 

China’s five London Olympic gold medal winning pairs and singles players were all at the Badminton Asia Championships, adding talking points and becoming focal points to the event. However, these players all failed to match their Olympic success, making this year’s Badminton Asia Championships full of drama and providing spectators with a lot of excitement. 

 

Ko Sung Hyun/ Kim Ha Na defeated London gold medalists Zhang Nan/ Zhao Yun Lei in their first outing as a pair 

 

The final of the mixed doubles also surprised many. ROK pair Ko Sung Hyun/ Kim Ha Na were playing together in their first tournament but disposed of some top pairs on their way to the final, where they faced London gold medalists Zhang Nan/ Zhao Yun Lei. It was widely believed that, with the ROK pair still getting used to playing with each other, despite their undoubted ability they would be no match for the battle-hardened gold medal winning pair from China. However, the ROK surprised many when they took the title in straight games, 22-20,21-17. 

 

Quite a few players played well at the Indian Open but the most eye-catching of all was the ROK’s current team captain Ko Sung Hyun who had taken two titles just the week before at the Badminton Asia Championships. 

Before the tournament the opinion of many was that handsome, affable Ko, who always has a smile on his face, had a good chance of doing well, even of repeating his double success of the week before at the India Open.

 

The winners and runners-up in the mixed doubles at the India Open 2013;from the right Tontowi,Liliyan, Kim Ha Na, Ko Sung Hyun.
(Photo provided by the Indonesian Badminton Association.)

 

However, the world’s top mixed doubles pair, Indonesian lightning Tontowi/ Liliyana were ready for the challenge. In the final, Liliyana’s precision shots suppressed Ko’s impressive firepower and forced the ROK pair to hit the shuttlecock in the air, allowing Tontowi to attack mercilessly. In the end the Indonesians took the match in straight games to take the title.   

 

Since becoming a men’s doubles pair in October last year, the ROK’s Ko Sung Hyun/ Lee Yong Dae have performed well in major international tournaments and so, of course, their world ranking has continued to climb. In April Ko/ Lee took the men’s doubles title at both the Badminton Asia Championships and the India Open, taking their ranking above that of Malaysia’s Koo Kean Keat/ Tan Boon Heong into second place, just a narrow margin of 500 points behind world No. 1 pair Mathias BOE/ Carsten MOGENSEN of Denmark. If the ROK pair can take the title at the next big international tournament they should rise up to No. 1 spot in the BWF rankings.

 

Ko Sung Hyun/ Lee Yong Dae:Just one step away from No. 1 in the BWF rankings 

 

 

Rank	Country	Player	Points
1		LEE Chong Wei	93599.8476
2		CHEN Long	90300.3161
3		DU Pengyu	67696.3100
4		Sony Dwi KUNCORO	61230.0000
5		Kenichi TAGO	57799.9075
6		HU Yun	57380.0000
7		Jan O JORGENSEN	54497.4839
8		Boonsak PONSANA	54060.0000
9		WANG Zhengming	52650.0000
10		Tien Minh NGUYEN	51770.0000

Women's singles

Rank	Country	Player	Points
1		LI Xuerui	81316.7153
2		Saina NEHWAL	78770.0000
3		WANG Yihan	75492.7491
4		Juliane SCHENK	73373.5663
5		Ratchanok INTANON	70044.7954
6		SUNG Ji Hyun	69371.3577
7		Tine BAUN	64069.4782
8		WANG Shixian	63312.1240
9		TAI Tzu Ying	55613.3262
10		Minatsu MITANI	53650.0000

Rank	Country	Player	Points
1		Mathias BOE Carsten MOGENSEN	78783.6999
2		KO Sung Hyun LEE Yong Dae	78252.9684
3		Kien Keat KOO Boon Heong TAN	75553.4586
4		Hiroyuki ENDO Kenichi HAYAKAWA	69353.0683
5		KIM Ki Jung KIM Sa Rang	63990.0000
6		LIU Xiaolong QIU Zihan	58670.0000
7		Thien How HOON Wee Kiong TAN ~	53230.0000
8		HONG Wei SHEN Ye	52336.0000
9		CAI Yun FU Haifeng	50452.2445
10		Angga PRATAMA Ryan Agung SAPUTRA	49040.0000

 

 

Rank	Country	Player	Points
1		WANG Xiaoli YU Yang (F)	80635.8944
2		Misaki MATSUTOMO Ayaka TAKAHASHI	65800.0000
3		Kamilla RYTTER JUHL Christinna PEDERSEN	65016.3355
4		Shizuka MATSUO Mami NAITO	62583.2250
5		EOM Hye Won JANG Ye Na	57671.5667
6		MA Jin TANG Jinhua	57070.0000
7		TIAN Qing ZHAO Yunlei	55357.1916
8		Miyuki MAEDA Satoko SUETSUNA	53790.0000
9		Duanganong AROONKESORN Kunchala VORAVICHITCHAIKUL	53684.8389
10		JUNG Kyung Eun KIM Ha Na	48898.3130

Mixed doubles