The Singapore Open Super Series is about to take the stage. Last year’s men’s singles winner Tommy Sugiarto (Indonesia) was set to play this year as third seed but has withdrawn due to injury. Last year’s women’s single winner, Wang Yi Han, is seeded second; VICTOR stars Tontowi Ahmad／Liliyana Natsir are full of confidence as they aim to retain their mixed doubles title. Last year Indonesia was the biggest winner at the Singapore Open, its players taking three titles. 

 

Liliyana Natsir／Tontowi Ahmad

 

Last year’s was a really unusual tournament because of the number of upsets; the men’s singles and men’s doubles titles were won by the unseeded Indonesian’s Tommy Sugiarto and Mohammad Ahsan／Hendra Setiawan, who went onto perform to a high standard in international competitions; Sugiarto is ranked fourth in the world at present, while Ahsan／Setiawan bKoreae the BWF record last year with 18 successive wins in Super Series events, their continuous excellent performances propelling them to the top of the BWF world rankings.   

 

Ahsan／Setiawan are top seeds at the Singapore Open and it is expected they will face their first tough opposition when they meet the Korea’s Yoo Yeon Seong／Kim Sa Rang; Yoo／Kim are a new pairing but were able to reach the last eight at last week’s India Open, going down only by a narrow margin to China’s formidable pairing of Fu Hai Feng／Zhang Nan.

 

Tsai Chia Hsin／Lee Sheng Mu

 

Chinese Taipei’s men’s doubles pair Lee Sheng Mu／Tsai Chia Hsin have performed well in various international competitions this year and are fourth in the BWF points table at present, ahead of Ahsan／Setiawan. They will play Malaysia’s Mohd Razif Abdul Latif／Vountus Indra Mawan in the first round and if they go through they will meet the elder Latif brothers in the next round, meaning they have to beat Latif brothers two rounds in a row to get to the last eight stage. 

 

China’s Li Xue Rui and Wang Yi Han are seeded first and second respectively. Wang Shi Xian is taking a break after winning both the All England and India Open tournaments in succession. Seeded third and fourth are the winner of the women’s singles title at last year’s Badminton World Championship Intanon of Thailand and the Korea’s Bae Yeon Ju. With the number of top players lined up we can expect some thrilling women’s singles matches.

 

The top seeds in the women’s singles are Denmark’s Christinna Pedersen／Kamilla Rytter Juhl but Wang Xiao Li ／Ma Jin of China are also widely regarded as having a good chance. They may be a new pairing but between them have won numerous international titles in the past, showing their wealth of ability and experience.

 

The top seeds in the mixed doubles are Ahmad／Natsir. Their biggest threats on the road to retaining the title will be China’s Xu Chen／Ma Jin and third seeds Ko Sung Hyun／Kim Ha Na. Ko／Kim’s results have been getting better and better recently, they have reached a career-high sixth in the world rankings and are in top form.

 

MS

Chou Tien Cheng (Chinese Taipei) vs. Nguyen Tien Minh [7] (Vietnam)

Shon Wan Ho [6] (Korea) vs. Hsu Jen Hao (Chinese Taipei)

Lee Dong Keun (Korea) vs. Kashyap Parupalli (India)

 

WS

Tai Tzu Ying [6] (Chinese Taipei) vs. Yip Pui Yin (Hong Kong)

Pai Hsiao Ma (Chinese Taipei) vs. Chen Jiayuan (Singapore)

Bae Yeon Ju [4] (Korea) vs. Niichaon Jindapon (Thailand) 

Sung Ji Hyun [5] (Korea) vs. Lindaweni Fanetri (Singapore)

 

MD

Yoo Yeon Seong／Kim Sa Rang [5] (Korea) vs. Goh V Shem／ Lim Khim Wah (Malaysia)

Lee Sheng Mu／Tsai Chia Hsin [6] (Chinese Taipei) vs. Mohd Razif Abdul Latif／Vountus Indra Mawan (Malaysia)

Chen Hung Lin／Lu Chia Pin (Chinese Taipei) vs. Christopher Rusdianto／Trikusuma Wardhana (Indonesia)

Ko Sung Hyun／Shin Baek Choel (Korea) vs. Gideon Markus Fernaldi／Markis Kido [7] (Indonesia)

 

WD

Jwala Gutta／Ashwini Ponnappa (India) vs. Luo Ying／Luo Yu (China)

Kim Ha Na／ Jung Kyung Eun (Korea) vs. Ma Jin／Wang Xiao Li [5] (China)

Jang Ye Na／ Kim So Young [4] (Korea) vs. Shinta Mulia Sari／ Yao Lei (Singapore)

Cheng Wen Hsing／Hsieh Pei Chen (Chinese Taipei) vs. Ng Hui Ern／Ng Hui Lin(Malaysia)

 

XD

Tontowi Ahmad／Liliyana Natsir [1] (Indonesia) vs. Qualification [Q]

Cheng Hung Ling／Cheng Wen Hsing (Chinese Taipei) vs. Qualification [Q]

Shin Baek Choel／Eom Hye Won (Korea) vs. Chan Peng Soon／ Goh Liu Ying [4] (Malaysia)

Tarun Kona／Ashwini Ponnappa (India) vs. Danny Bawa Chrisnanta／Yu Yan Vanessa Neo (Singapore)

Yoo Yeon Seong／Jang Ye Na (Korea) vs. Markis Kido／Pia Zebadiah Bernadeth [6] (India)

Ko Sung Hyun／Kim Ha Na [3] (Korea) vs. Chan Yun Lung／Tse Ying Suet (Hong Kong)

 

( Edit by VICTOR Badminton )