The upcoming Denmark Open will provide lots of opportunities for shuttlers to avenge recent losses in mouth appealing first round matches, where most of the top players will swing into action – with the exception of Lin Dan and the Korean contingent.
Taufik Hidayat will probably be happy with his draw for the upcoming Denmark Open in Odense on 21-26 October as the Indonesian shuttler, who seems to be back in form after his recent success over Lee Chong Wei in the final of the Macau Open, will take on Wong Choong Hann, his long time rival, who ended the Indonesian’s Olympic reign in Beijing last August.
A chance for Taufik to avenge his Beijing loss.
Should Taufik progress, Joachim Persson, the young and rising Dane, could be waiting for the former Olympic Gold medalist in the second round; And once again, an opportunity for Taufik to forget his poor performance in Japan, where he was clearly in the lead against the Dane before finally losing focus to let Persson claim a historical victory.
The latter will certainly hope to bank on his last win to beat Taufik in front of his home fans.
Lee Chong Wei, top seed for this event will hope to go one step more than the last three tournaments he played in, reaching the finals of the Olympics, then Japan, then Macau Open but failing to convert each time, losing to Lin Dan, Sony Dwi Kuncoro and Taufik last week.
His mentor Misbun Sidek recently told the local press that he will work with his protégé to avoid any confidence crisis when reaching the finals of major events. The road to the title this time will see him confront his compatriots – Sairul Ayob first, then, possibly Hafiz Hashim – now under BAM banner – before a probably quarter-final clash against Indonesia’s Simon Santoso.
With Lin Dan still enjoying his post Gold Olympic medal break, China’s best chances will rely on Chen Jin, second seed, and Bao Chunlai, third seed in different halves of the draw. Chen Jin starts his journey against Denmark’s Jan Jorgensen who will hope to overcome an injury sustained during a club match last week-end.
Then, the Olympic bronze medallist should probably take on Peter Gade, recent father of a second girl. Bao Chunlai takes on Singapore’s Kendrick Lee before a possible quarter-final tie against Taufik. The last quarte- final should see European Champion Kenneth Jonassen – who will be coaching the girls in Denmark - take on Sony Dwi Kuncoro.
Tine Rasmussen also, will have the opportunity to avenge a recent loss as she takes on Wang Yihan – she had lost in Japan to the uprising star from China – in the first round of her home tournament. A very tough draw for the Dane, who wants to amend her poor Olympic outing by shining in front of her home crowd of Odense.
This will definitely be the match of the day on Wednesday. Yet Tine’s road to the final will be a tricky one, as a victory against Wang would see her meet Judith Meulendijks of Netherlands or Pia Zebadiah of Indonesia, before a potential quarter-final against the probable winner of Wong Mew Choo and Wang Chen.
After Zhang Ning’s retirement, the Chinese Armada is now sending all of its younger generation, with Xie Xingfang as the experienced leader. The top seed makes her comeback to competition after putting away her post Olympic bitterness.
She seems back on track but has a tough first round against her compatriot Wang Lin. Should the latter yield to her older opponent, Xie would then face an easier draw as Pi Hongyan could withdraw from the Denmark Open with a knee injury.
China’s men’s doubles reshuffle with Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng separated – although it is not known whether the switch is permanent, will see the duo partner Xu Chen and Shen Ye respectively.
But no such change for top seeds and Olympic champions Markis Kido/Hendra Setiawan as the pair will hope to fare well in Denmark – the soil which saw their first breakthrough in the international stage when they were runners-up in 2004.
They will play against England’s Nathan Robertson/Anthony Clark – the English duo was reformed while Nathan is still looking for a new start after his partner Gail Emms retired, and playing men’s double as well for a change.
Denmark’s best chances will rely on Lars Paaske/Jonas Rasmussen, winners of their first ever Super Series title in Japan last month, second seeds with the new status of Denmark’s most experienced pair after the retirement of Jens Eriksen/Martin Lundgaard. They’ll play England’s Chris Langridge/David Lindley in the first round, while Matthias Boe/Carsten Mogensen will hope to tackle their compatriots should they reach the semi-final stage.
In the women’s doubles, there will be no all China final, as there isn’t any pair from China involved in the lower part of the draw. Du Jing and Yu Yang, Olympic Champions will probably have to face the “hot” pair of Cheng Shu/Zhao Yunlei, winners of the last three tournaments in the absence of their elder compatriots, while Pan Pan/Qing Tian should fight for the other semi-final spot against Malaysia’s Wong Pei Tty/Chin Eei Hui.
The retirement of most of the Chinese women’s doubles pairs have given Indonesia’s Vita Marissa/ Lilyana Natsir, now seeded second, a good chance to qualify for the final. They will take on the winners of Jenny Wallwork/Gabrielle Wright against Yao Jie/Judith Meulendiks in the second round after a Bye, and a probable semi-final against Japan’s Kumiko Ogura/Reiko Shiota – if the Indonesian pass the other Japanese Aki Akao/Tomomi Matsuda.
In the absence of Olympic gold medalists Lee Young Dae/Lee Hyo Jung, the silver and bronze medalist from the Games will take the top seeded spot. Nova Widianto/Lilyana Natsir are now used to this status and will start their warming up session against two young pairs from Denmark.
China’s He Hanbin/Yu Yang, on their end, might have an even clearer path as the three Malaysian pairs they were supposed to play withdrew from the tournament, leaving the way clear for the quarter-final, where they should logically take on England’s David Lindley/Suzanne Rayappan.
The English will be well represented in the draw, with no less than 6 pairs including the England-Scotland partnership of Robert Blair/Imoggen Bankier. Robertson will try his luck with Jenny Wallwork while Anthony Clark/Donna Kellogg – provided the latter recovers from her injury – will try to live up to their tag of European Champions.
Revenge time has arisen once more with a first round match between Japan Open champions Muhammad Rijal/Vita Marissa who will face their Tokyo semi-final victims Flandy Limpele/Greysia Polii.
Fonte : site BWF
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