Tag: china badminton

Yonex All England 2023: Women’s Preview

Olympic champions, world champions and future champions will all be travelling thousands of miles to take part in the All England – one of the most prestigious and coveted titles in the badminton world.

2J0NY61 Badminton – All England Open 2022 – Utilita Arena, Birmingham, Britain – March 20, 2022 Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi celebrates with trophy on the podium after winning the women’s final Action Images via Reuters/Ed Sykes

Women’s Singles

Seeded to win the trophy and returning as defending champion Akane Yamaguchi knows what it takes to be successful in this tournament. Endless resilience and faultless court coverage is baked into her game. Her speed and tactical nous give her a significant edge, so who can push her to her limits?

Akane’s top half of the draw is peppered with formidable adversaries.  CHEN Yu Fei is seeded 4 and is slated to clash with her in a SF.  She was outclassed in straight sets in their SF at the recent German Open so she will be reevaluating her strategies over the next couple of days. Sometimes her weakness can be caution and I think she will have to offer far more than her standard patient game if she wants to get on the podium.  Nevertheless she must be travelling to Birmingham knowing that she can win it again.  There are five Chinese women in the draw with WANG Zhi Yi and HAN Yue also in the top half.  HE Bing Jiao is seeded 5 and was only stopped by injury at last year’s tournament.  This year her harsh draw means that she could have to face Sindhu then TAI Tzu Ying during the early stages.

I am fascinated to see if Gregoria Mariska Tunjung can impose herself on this year’s competition. Her skills tend towards the flair end of the spectrum and over the past year or so she has worked hard to produce good results against top players.  Unseeded, in the top half of the draw, Ratchanok Intanon or Pornpawee will be early tests of her resolve.

Ratchanok Intanon’s adventurous style of play can result in unfavourable outcomes when she faces a determined opponent who tempts her into taking risky shots.  CYF and AY are those opponents, and they will be waiting for her if she goes deep into the tournament.  Despite that May can unpick rivals’ strategies with her inventive shots so her skills could take her past them if the stars align in her favour.

AN Se Young has had an impressive start to 2023 with two golds and one silver from January’s contests (& is about to contest the final of the German Open). She’s the second seed and so long as she stays injury free, she must be anticipating yet another final. If that turns out to be one more battle with Akane then I think the result will depend on how hard her journey to the last day is.  The Head-to-head stats are strongly in favour of the Japanese but recently it appears that the power dynamics are shifting.

Three-time winner TAI Tzu Ying has eschewed the possible benefits of a warm-up in Germany and decided to plunge straight into the S1000.  Her mind-blowing skills bring a touch of magic to any match but her mental resilience is below the level of some rivals.  If she can get her ‘A’ game flowing early on without escalating injury niggles she can quite legitimately be looking at a fourth title even though she will potentially have to negotiate matches against HE Bing Jiao and AN Se Young to get to the final.

I wonder what Carolina Marin could achieve this year? She has the experience to derail ASY if they meet in a QF and if she passes that test she has to be the contender that everyone is wary of.  Under sustained physical pressure there is the risk that she will be dismantled so her tactics should reflect this. PV Sindhu is a consistent medalist at the highest levels. I can’t reconcile this with the absence of a podium finish at the AE. She is unseeded this year in the bottom half of the draw and I’m not sure what we can expect from her, then again last time she competed in Brum was her successful Gold medal match at the CWG so she is well-known for getting her motivation from the big games.

The progression of WS tactics seems to favour the athletes with the toughness to accelerate in the third set. As the hall in Birmingham is usually slow it’s hard to look beyond the top two seeds for the eventual winner.

Women’s Doubles

We are in the middle of a generational shift in WD with more emphasis on attack rather than the attritional play of a few years ago. The idea of a showdown between the more traditional and the newer pairs is mouthwatering.

CHEN Qing Chen and JIA Yi Fan are consistent winners of tournaments and must be favourites to secure this trophy for a second time. Their strategy of  attacking aggressively and exerting a steady stream of pressure subdues their rivals quite effectively; they are skillful defenders, so the challenge is where to find their weak spot. Their compatriots ZHANG Shu Xian & ZHENG Yu are seeded 3 and they could meet in the QF if results go their way.

Defending champions Nami Matsuyama & Chiharu Shida are part of the new wave of pairs who want to seize control of matches through pacey attacking play.  Their exhilarating speed and Shida’s adventurous shots are so dynamic that they can often overwhelm the opposition; once they are in control they are very difficult to beat.

Pearly TAN & Thinaah Muralitharan are also part of the emerging group of WD players who approach matches with bolder strategies. Pearly is capable of audacious shots from the front court and as a pair they have a lot of grit. One of their big strengths is that they persevere and stay positive when they face setbacks together.

Apriyani Rahayu enjoyed glory as part of GreyAp and was able to defend diligently in that framework but the new partnership with Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti has uncaged two attack-minded players who thrive on a more assertive style.  They are seeded 8 so if they get to the QF and face ShidaMatsu there will be fireworks for the spectators to enjoy.

The quality of the WD competition is superb this year and there are multiple pairs who have the potential to make it to the finals weekend. The Aimsaard sisters had a great 2022 and are now acknowledged as emerging talent. Japan’s past winners, FukuHiro and NagaMatsu understand how to negotiate the early rounds of big competitions. Kitiharakul/Prajongjai (seeded 7) and the three Korea pairs are expected to do well.  Nevertheless owing to the slow hall conditions I think the eventual winners will have to be wily as well as offensive; there will be some long matches leading up to the final so staying injury-free will also be crucial.  Taking all these factors into account it’s hard to look far beyond the first and second seeds but I would love PriFad or PearThin to still be fighting at the weekend.

Mixed Doubles

I always include XD in my ‘women’s’ previews because it is the skill of the female partner that cements the success of the pair.  One of the most talented players in the whole sport at the moment is HUANG Yaqiong and along with her partner – ZHENG Siwei – is seeded 1.  She’s an exceptional competitor who has won this competition twice with different partner each time; most recently in 2019 with Siwei when they beat the 2022 champions Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino.  The Japanese pair are seeded 2 this year and are looking to secure their third title in a row (fourth overall).  So, who can stop the top two seeds facing off for the trophy on March 19th? 

Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue have been knocking on the door of a major trophy for the last year or so.  They are fourth seeds and if things go smoothly they could potentially have a SF against the Chinese number ones.  It’s clear that all the French badminton players are looking to build for their home Olympics in 2024 so they will have a little way yet to peak.  Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taeranttanachai (seeded 3) will be looking to improve on their silver in 2020 when they lost in three sets to Praveen Jordan and Melati Octavianti who have returned after quite a long injury related absence. As they haven’t been on court for a while they are unseeded and they could face Bass/Popor in round 2.  The Chinese fifth seeds – FENG Yan Zhe and HUANG Dong Ping – could be contenders too.  HUANG is the Olympic champion and this new partnership is steadily making progress.

Verdict

A spectacular event awaits. The best players will be testing themselves at the highest level. The winners will have to battle hard and stay focused on the prize. Go Girls!

If you enjoyed this take a look at my article about TAI Tzu Ying at the All England https://womensbadminton.co.uk/2022/03/02/tai-tzu-ying-at-the-all-england/

©2025

Amanda Bloss All Rights Reserved

Women’s Singles: From Chinese monopoly to the most competitive discipline in badminton.

By Aakash Joshi

Screenshot courtesy BWF

My first memory of watching badminton was as a young kid at my uncles’ house. It was the 1999 World Championship final between DAI Yun and Camilla Martin; sensationally the Dane scored a rare victory in a sport dominated by Chinese players. Martin was the first woman to consistently challenge this. In 2000 at the Sydney Olympics, it was Martin who was fighting the Chinese dominance of women’s singles. She battled GONG Zhichao in the final but had to settle for Silver. In Athens 2004 I distinctly remember the match between Mia Audina and ZHANG Nin won by the Chinese athlete in the third set after losing the first. So, my earliest recollections of women’s singles is a sector where China was the superior force.

Fast forward to the 2008 Olympics. I was in class 9 when I watched Beijing’s grand opening ceremony and started to understand the gravitas of the Games. I heard about Saina Nehwal – a young 16-year-old  from Hyderabad – I remember that third round match against WANG Chen. No Indian player had reached beyond round of 16 in Olympics and here she was, defeating a world top 5 player in three sets. I was curious. I started watching other matches to see if she could win a medal. I prayed that Saina should get Yulianti and avoid Tina Baun. Yes, Saina Nehwal did get Indonesia’s Maria Yulianti in the QF. It was a real rollercoaster of a game. Saina won the first set in extra points, lost set 2 easily and had a lead of 11-3 in final but it was not to be, and she lost  21-15 in the end.

It was the era of “Saina versus China,” and I followed her progress everywhere. I saw her winning the first prestigious super series 2009 in Indonesia – in front of a crazy Istora Senayan – defeating another Chinese player WANG Lin over 3 sets. Then came the Hyderabad world championship: Saina reached the QF but on this occasion lost to WANG Lin.

It was 2010 and Saina was flourishing. She won 2 SuperSeries tournaments (India Open & Singapore Open), retained her Indonesia Open title and had made it to world #2. Although seeded 2 for the Paris World Championships, she lost in the QF, this time to Chinese WANG Shixian in two straight games. Her focus was shifting to her first multi sporting event – the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. I saw her winning that gold medal from WONG Mew Choo of Malaysia in three hard fought sets. It was a momentous day for Indian badminton.

China dominated the 2011 World Championships winning all five gold medals. Saina expected to do well in London but lost in the quarters again to the Chinese:  this time it was tricky WANG Xin who annihilated her in two games. I saw the brilliance of ZHAO Yunlei winning two medals: a gold and a silver. ZHAO for me is one of the greatest players of all time – the only player to have won two Golds at the same Olympics.

London 2012 and Saina arrived in the UK  in superb form with a win at the Thailand Open and a third Indonesia Open victory. She got a straightforward draw until the quarters where she faced tricky Tina Baun. That day she won the first game easily, lost momentum in the second game and I switched off the TV. After 3 minutes I saw the news “Saina in Semis of Olympics games” .  As a fan, that day in  August is a special day in my life. Knowing Saina had a patchy record against the Chinese I still hoped that after breaking the QF barrier she would give a good fight to top seed WANG Yihan like 2011 Super Series  finals, but it was not to be. WANG Yihan had other plans. She was untroubled by Saina in both set s 21-13,21-13. Saina then played bronze medal against WANG Xin. WANG Xin started controlling the pace of the match but soon Saina fought  back. When Wang Xin fell, initially, I thought it was a tactic to take a break, but no, it was seriously injury, and the game was ended by WANG Xin’s retirement. When the greatest badminton player of all time – LI Lingwei – presented the medal to Saina, I could not hold back my tears. ZHAO Yunlei won two Golds (XD & WD) in London, the only player to have achieved this at the same Olympics.

Although China won Gold and Silver in the Women’s Singles in London, looking back it was the last time Chinese athletes dominated that sector. Suddenly, women players from around the world were challenging for the most prestigious honours.

2013 was a watershed year and the World Championships in Guangzhou epitomized this. On grand finals day with 11000 spectators shouting “Jiayou!” to  LI Xuerui,  I thought that the young Ratchanok would falter but it was not the case: she was trailing 19-12 but played a net shot to force a lift from LI X. It was just out at the back line and the deceptive Thai started her show. She won that set 22-20, lost the momentum in the second but in third game she controlled her lead and won the match 21-14. On the biggest stage China lost the gold medal to a young Thai girl.

That triumph provided the headlines but if we look a little deeper into the tournament there were other signs that China’s supremacy in WS was being dispelled. P V Sindhu defeated two Chinese opponents back-to-back (WANG Yihan & WANG Shixian) to clinch Bronze; now she has gone on to win a total of five World Championship medals. The stand-out QF for me was the thrilling match between Ratchanok and Carolina Marin. The young Marin lost in three tight sets but has gone on to win the tournament three times, as well as numerous Superseries events and 2016 Olympic Gold.

I have watched greats come and go. I saw the utter dominance of China but the 2013 World Championships and the arrival of Ratchanok, Carolina Marin and Sindhu changed the landscape of Women singles. Later that year an unseeded 16 year-old became the first Japanese woman athlete to win the Japan Open. Akane Yamaguchi stunned the world with her victory over the up-and-coming TAI Tzu Ying; now she is reigning two times World Champion and TAI Tzu Ying has held the World #1 spot for Taiwan for longer than 200 weeks.

Badminton in Women singles is no longer China vs China. Over the past few years, it has become the most diverse group among all 5 disciplines. However, with CHEN Yu Fei winning Gold at the Tokyo Olympics, HE Bing Jao an ever present top ten player and the rise of WANG Zhi Yi and HAN Yue it is arguable that the fightback is on, and the Chinese team are trying their best to reclaim their dominance.

Follow Aakash on Twitter for more Badminton analysis @Badminton1993

If you enjoyed this take a look at this article about Saina Nehwal https://womensbadminton.co.uk/2019/10/08/indias-saina-nehwal-trailblazer-legend/

©2025

Amanda Bloss All Rights Reserved

Thomas Cup 2022 Preview

Can Indonesia rekindle the spirit that delivered gold last October or will another squad challenge their possession of the coveted trophy?  History tells us that this tournament tends to be dominated by Asia’s players so although 16 teams are travelling to Bangkok it will be a shock if badminton’s status quo is upset.

Image courtesy BWF

This is the 32nd time that the event has taken place and it starts with the sixteen teams split into four groups for the Round Robin portion of the competition. The top two in each group will advance into the draw for the quarter finals and this is where the battles become brutal. Some players thrive under pressure but these knockout stages and subsequent pathway to the podium will expose weaknesses. The athletes and coaches with a mental edge are the ones who will triumph.

Group A: Indonesia, Korea, Thailand, Singapore.

As defending champions Indonesia can step back onto court optimistic that they have the players who can repeat last October’s victory. Marcus Gideon is still rehabbing from ankle surgery but Kevin Sukamuljo has travelled to Bangkok so he will partner someone else if needed. The strength in depth of the MD cadre should give opponents nightmares. It is stuffed with winners. In singles, the red-hot form of Jonatan Christie was kick-started by his Thomas Cup heroics last time and he must be solid in his results now because Anthony Ginting has no winning momentum since his bronze at the Olympics.

Thailand are the home team but I think they will struggle to escape the group because Korea’s men have performed well lately. The fight for the second spot will be between these two although Singapore can expect LOH Kean Yew to make life difficult for everyone he faces.

Group B: Denmark, China, France, Algeria.

This is such an intriguing group; I’m excited to see who emerges from it. For Denmark, Viktor Axelsen is virtually unstoppable these days whilst Antonsen, Vittinghus and Gemke can all create winning opportunities in matches. The MD pairs can usually mix it with the best so it was a surprise that they won no medal at the recent European Championships. They must step up a level if they want to mount a realistic challenge for the cup. Behind Denmark, France is probably the second best team in Europe right now and they have sent six European Junior champions to Bangkok. They will need a hard miracle to get to the knockouts but they are building a formidable side.

Only a fool would describe any Chinese team as ‘weak’ so lets flip that and say they don’t look invincible. No SHI Yu Qi and an evolving MD landscape means that it’s hard to predict how far they can go, nevertheless it’s China and that means badminton success. This is a wait and see situation.

Group C: India, Taiwan, Germany, Canada

I’d love this Indian team to realise their potential and get to a Semi-Final. Sen is the man of the moment – his fearless competitiveness at the All England was scintillating – add in Kidambi and Prannoy and MS looks strong. In MD Rankireddy/Shetty will trouble everyone they meet so barring injuries this group of athletes could win their group.

After a long absence from the international stage LEE Yang/ WANG Chi-Lin are back for Team Taiwan. The Tokyo MD Gold medalists plus CHOU Tien Chen should have enough to escape Group C along with India but Germany might run them close. Mark Lamsfuss was outstanding at the recent European Championships so along with his partner Marvin Seidel may fancy his chances of an upset or two.

Group D: Japan, Malaysia, England, USA

Both Japan or Malaysia could get to the semi-finals of this competition. Japan’s strength in MD will probably decide who tops the group although Momota’s alarming dip in form compared to the rise of LEE Zii Jia could keep things very close. The English team will want to scrap for some results and they could see some encouraging development but it’s not likely that they or the USA will progress.

Conclusions

Indonesia’s quality is going to be hard to beat; the squad is stuffed full of proven top 10 players. However retaining a title is notoriously tricky. China and Denmark are probable medalists but they both will want their ‘fringe’ players to be ready to force results when the pressure is high. Other than these three then Japan, Malaysia or India could push through but they will need intelligent strategy blended with stamina and no injuries. There will be a few surprises along the way and the team who can cope with this will be the one with their hands on the Thomas Cup.

If you enjoyed this then take a look at my review of Indonesia’s triumph in 2021 here https://womensbadminton.co.uk/2021/10/17/indonesia-win-the-thomas-cup/

©2025

Amanda Bloss All Rights Reserved

CHEN Yu Fei

We have to wait a little longer than expected to see if CHEN Yu Fei will follow in the footsteps of LI Xuerui, ZHANG Ning and GONG Zhichao to win Olympic Gold. It’s indisputable that she would have expected to be on the podium if the tournament had gone ahead in July.

CHEN Yu Fei’s victory at the 2019 Yonex All England kickstarted a year which climaxed in December when she was crowned world #1. She is the first Chinese Women’s Singles player since LI Xuerui to achieve this distinction.  Still only 21, CHEN Yu Fei has enjoyed an extraordinary run of success since her triumph over TAI Tzu Ying in Birmingham last March.   In the return encounter in March 2020 TTY reversed the previous year’s result but there is no doubt that she ill be a key competitor in the Olympics in 2021.

 The talent and quality in this generation of Women’s Singles players is magnificent. Part of the appeal of this sector is that there is no particular style that dominates every tournament.  The fitness of the athletes, their technical skills and tactical sense all mean that results can be erratic. Some key players have lacked consistency – for instance Sindhu and Akane have had a tendency to crash out in the early rounds of competition.  Others, like Saina and Marin have had their seasons disrupted by injuries.  However, CHEN Yu Fei has been a reliable presence most of the time with the stand-out ability to win in a final once she gets to it. 

As a 21-year-old, with the backing of the Chinese coaching establishment to support her she can continue to develop and extend herself; the improvement since 2018 has been stellar which reveals her commitment and focus.  CHEN has been identified as perhaps the spearhead of a renaissance in Chinese women’s singles.  For instance, not so long ago they dominated the All England.  Between 2000 and 2014 there were 11 winners and 12 runners-up in this sector but then the talent seemed to dry up. Since then only one podium spot (WANG Shixian in 2016) until CHEN’s title win in 2019.

The foundation of CHEN Yu Fei’s badminton is quite simple.  She is a fine player with excellent all- round mastery of the game.  Her physical durability is such a positive feature; consistent fitness allows her training to build up to tournaments in a controlled way. She is an extremely intelligent strategist, always alert to opportunities to gain points.  Her tendency to rebalance her game as the match progresses is a major asset; this responsiveness to threats means that if she can stay in a game when she is under pressure, she can often grind out a win. Her default strategy is patience.  Frequently, against someone who relies more on flair and deception, she will sit back and let them play.  She has got endless stamina.  She can wait for a storm to blow itself out and then pounce.  I love the way she will cleverly conserve energy: she can keep the shuttle in play and then towards the last few points in a set she can accelerate away and inflict defeat.  Against players with suspect resilience this is a brutally efficient approach.  It’s a method of increasing pressure because her rival will feel the desire to win the game briskly or else risk running out of energy.  This is the trap that is set.  The need to win provokes mistakes and often the match spirals away.  The temptation is to risk more, to aim for the lines, to score a quick point.  This makes compelling theatre for spectators but is ineffective most of the time.

Patience is at the core of her strategy and if I had to single out a weakness, I would say that this can stray into an avoidance of risk.  In a very close match, the ability to be unpredictable can make the difference between Silver and Gold.

She returned to the Yonex All England a tougher player than ever: as well as her tour triumphs she had a central role in China’s Sudirman Cup victory. She was seeded #1 and got to the final but was out-thought by TAI Tzu Ying. Her main rival had arrived at the party with a new strategy; this time TTY played with patience and picked her moments to attack. CYF just could not get a foothold in the game and lost it in straight sets.

When the BWF tour resumes it will be fascinating to see what she has learned from this loss because acheiving the correct balance between risk and safety, attack and defence is going to be crucial in her progress to the podium in Tokyo.

If you enjoyed this follow the link to my most recent look at TTY https://womensbadminton.co.uk/2020/03/23/tai-tzu-ying-the-triple-champion/ and this is an a piece I wrote in 2019 about CYF https://womensbadminton.co.uk/2019/04/03/another-sensational-player-from-china-chen-yu-fei/

©2025

Amanda Bloss All Rights Reserved

CHEN Qing Chen & JIA Yi Fan

Chinese players were the dominant force of the 2019 All England Championships: of the five titles up for grabs they won three.  The current holders of the Women’s Doubles trophy, CHEN Qing Chen and JIA Yi Fan will be in an upbeat mood as they analyse the year they had – altogether six tournament victories – and optimistic about meeting the challenges ahead. 

Women’s Doubles is contested by lots of talented twosomes from all over the badminton playing world but it’s interesting to note that there is no Momota-like presence who rules supreme.  Consider the five Super750 tournaments from last year, remarkably they were each won by different pairs.  However, CHEN & JIA have the competitive edge when we look at the most coveted trophies on the tour, the Super1000.  They are able to inject a bit of extra sparkle under pressure and this enabled them to win two of the 3 – the YAE & the China Open – and bronze in the third.  This trio of elite competitions are the ones that all players want to win, so to bag two in a year is a mark of superiority and it illustrates their enjoyment of performing on the big stage in front of a large crowd.

What is it about this partnership that makes them thrive at the highest level?  They have been playing together for years and so the crucial foundation of rotation and mutual support has become effortless.  The flow of movement is very smooth, this underpins their attacks and lets them pummel opponents into defeat.  Crucially they both have reliable serves (the most important shot in the game in my opinion) so unlike some of their rivals they can expect to gain control of the rally right from the start.  And, of course, they have the expertise of the Chinese coaches to support them at every match.

Embed from Getty Images

CHEN is a pressure player, always busy with energy and focus.  Good technique means she can generate a lot of power despite her lack of height (164cm).  Her superb cross-court smashes are unleashed with ferocity and accuracy to gain a lot of points for the team.  At the start of her senior career she competed in Mixed and Women’s Doubles and has enjoyed success in both.  Nowadays she concentrates more on WD but playing against men has informed her style.  She’s brave, resolute and will face down aggression easily.  She provoked headlines at the YAE last year when she cut short her celebrations, trimmed her lap of honour and avoided the spotlights.  She explained later that she wanted a low profile so as not to distract her friend CHEN Yufei, who was about to enter the arena to play her Women’s Singles final.  This shows a good mark of respect for her teammates and a lack of ego.

Embed from Getty Images

It’s often said – most notably by the great Morten Frost – that JIA Yi Fan is the key to this partnership’s success.  If she is playing to her potential then they tend to win.  She is left-handed and like CHEN can produce a lot of power.  She is a decisive player who will smash, follow-up and then bury the shuttle to clinch a point.  Her flat drives build pressure to force mistakes especially when she puts them together in her attacking sequences. She has a delicate touch at the net too, and can take the sting out of a speeding shuttle to wrongfoot opponents.

As a pair they play at a high tempo and with venom.  I watched their semi-final and final in Birmingham last year and was stunned by their hostile bombardment of their opponents.  The experience of seeing them play live was memorable because the speed and accuracy they can produce is overwhelming.  They can be unceasingly intense and often opponents get pinned down midcourt as flat vicious drives and smashes zero in on them.  I always think that the attacking combination of a lefty with a conventional right-hander is a mix guaranteed to unsettle rivals.  They have to unpick their muscle memory to modify the standard defence routines so a proportion of their automatic responses to pressure are obsolete.

Can they retain their title in Birmingham?  They’ve begun the year in anticlimactic fashion at the Malaysian Masters but I don’t think we should read anything major into that result. As we know, 2020 is Olympic year which is significant to the focus of athletes’ training cycles. The danger from the Japanese WD pairs is huge. There are lots of players who are going to be pushing to the limit because qualification for Tokyo is restricted to two WD pairs per country.  Fukushima and Hirota, Matsumoto and Nagahara, not to mention the current Olympic Champions Matsutomo and Takahashi all need success in England.

So, there are threats to CHEN & JIA’s desire to make it two in a row in Birmingham but not many players who have the firepower that they can bring to a match.  The pace and power they unleash is breath-taking. Momentum in sport is so important and any athlete with ambitions to win in March will need to bring their best game to the All England.  On the big stage, in the important competitions is where this Chinese pair shine and there is no better tournament for them to cement their legend.

This first appeared on the Yonex All England website

If you enjoyed this you may like my article about one of their biggest rivals, Fukuhiro https://womensbadminton.co.uk/2019/11/06/japans-fukuhiro-can-they-win-tokyo-gold/

Or this one about Polii & Rahayu https://womensbadminton.co.uk/2020/01/19/greysap-redux-polii-rahayu-are-back/

©2025

Amanda Bloss All Rights Reserved

Chinese Men’s Doubles

China is traditionally one of the powerhouses of world badminton. There have been times when their players have been able to totally dominate tournaments and yet now, if we look at the portfolio of athletes there are some vulnerabilities. In Men’s Doubles particularly, there is such a depth of ability in other countries – for example from Indonesia and Japan – that I think they will struggle to make an impact in Tokyo unless changes happen. The coaching setup is second-to-none and when it was announced back in September that for the first time they had signed up non-Chinese coaches (Kang Kyung Jin and Yoo Yong Sung from Korea) there was an implicit admission that improvements were needed.

These are some of the thoughts of Daniel DM who looked at the key pairs in the sector

LIU Yuchen & LI Junhui – Current Status: World #4

The 2018 World Champions have been partners since they were juniors and back in 2017 briefly achieved world #1 status. They are two tall hard-hitters who can find a lot of attacking power. They prefer to play at a fast pace but they have the ability to vary this when they meet highspeed opponents; so for example they will slow the tempo to frustrate Kevin and Marcus when they face them. Yuchen has great net play: his height allows him the advantage of a long reach so passing him is tricky. He can often seize control of a rally right at the start by his flat, forceful serve returns. Junhui’s strength can penetrate walls, so his muscles are a massive asset in any game. Unusually for such tall men they are light on their feet with very smooth movement and good spatial awareness.

There are some weaknesses. They can break super defensive opponents, but sometimes it doesn’t work. For example, at the World Tour Finals in 2019 LI/LIU became very frustrated when facing Endo/Watanabe and it had an impact on their gameplay. Their shots became monotonous and lacked variation. They tried smashing but of course – in that super slow hall – it didn’t work. The Endo/Watanabe counter-attack could destroy them easily. They also can struggle with an effective response to flat, fast shots that come just over the net. Rankireddy & Shetty have used this strategy against them and they can, on occasion, find it hard to escape that trap once momentum has turned against them. However, they are both gritty fighters who can cope with pressure; in the final of the 2018 Thomas Cup we saw them hold steady and defend two match points before converting one of their own to gain victory for the Chinese team.

HAN Chengkai & ZHOU Haodong – Current Status World #11

Winners of the BWF Most Promising Player award in 2018 these two really rose to prominance in that year. They are fierce and love to attack; if an opponent tries to match them they feed off speed and can boss the game. Surprisingly over the past year their defence has become a little fragile, but they have a strong defence in a slow hall, with fast pace. A MD pair like Kevin/Marcus have a hard time beating them. But for pairs that are patient with a strong defence (like Kamura/Sonoda, Astrup/Rasmussen & Boe/Conrad) they can lose; rivals have to control the tempo and then they are more vulnerable.

HE Jiting & TAN Qiang – Current Status World #15

These are a really fascinating duo because they don’t fit the usual pattern of Chinese MD. I have noticed that they play at a different tempo to the others, they are not so quick, more moderate and so this allows them to play a more tactically varied game. They bring more to tournaments than the MD standard of hard smashes and fast movement. They have an effective dropshot and are good allrounders. HE also plays mixed doubles with DU Yue and I believe that this influences his style; he is good at covering his partner defensively from the rear court.

DI Zijiang & WANG Chang – Current Status World #33

The upcoming juniors play at a high tempo with fast reactions and plenty of power. Their style has a lot of agility, they are happy to chase and put pressure on their rivals. It’s going to be fascinating to see them step up into the senior ranks; they need to improve their defence but they have time to work on this.

Conclusions

There are two phrases that keep cropping up: fast and powerful. These are the skills that we traditionally associate with Men’s Doubles but on their own they are not enough. With all the resources available to the elite players in China we should see them challenging more consistently for the top positions on the podium. What does 2020 hold? It’s going to be exciting finding out.

If you enjoyed this take a look at this article about the Minions https://womensbadminton.co.uk/2019/11/29/the-minions-indonesian-superheroes/ or this one about CHEN Yufei https://womensbadminton.co.uk/2019/04/03/another-sensational-player-from-china-chen-yu-fei/

HE Bing Jiao

HBJ’s win at the Korea Open was an immense result. In the context of her failure to win a title since 2016 (French & Japan Open) this should be the victory that her self-belief has craved.

“Now that I have won my first title in three years, I can’t say anything because my brain is empty”

The gulf between being a good player and being a winner is huge. We can see this a lot in the world top 20s. If we look at players like Tunjung and HE their ability is not in question but they don’t seem able to convert a good position into a win. Part of the reason is experience: success in junior ranks does not always translate into senior successes. HE has been around the elite players for quite a while; her world ranking is 7 so evidence is here of a competitor who has the skills to achieve much more. Morten Frost remarked during the game that HE needed more variety in her shots to convert play into points. She was using lovely cross-court drops through the match and her smash/followup combinations were good. She seemed very comfortable with her hitting from the rear court.

She has been edging towards a tournament win all year: she’s been to two finals (but lost both) including one to Ratchanok in India. This match was different. At first against May, she was second best; particularly when she was drawn into any net duel. May dictated the play and suddenly HE was a game down with four match points to save. Incredibly she fought her way back into the contest. HE soaked up Ratchanok’s pressure and in a similar strategy to one we have seen CHEN YuFei use she just kept returning the shuttle therefore allowing May to make crucial mistakes.

Winning this tournament and putting an end to the gold famine may be the event that liberates her confidence in herself. As she said:

“From this tournament, I’ve learned some ways to win, particularly when I fall behind and I think that will be useful in my coming tournaments”

Well, time will tell. Her joy after the win was obvious, as she threw not one but two rackets into the crowd. She has the skills, the fitness and the expertise of the Chinese coaching set-up behind her and this is a great time for her to discover the habit of winning. Tokyo2020 is getting closer!

If you enjoyed this follow the link to my article about Ratchanok https://womensbadminton.co.uk/2019/06/26/ratchanok-can-thailands-sweetheart-get-gold/

©2025

Amanda Bloss All Rights Reserved

Badminton World Championships Basel 2019: WS Preview

The Badminton World Championships start on August 19th so I’m taking a look at some of the main contenders for Women’s Singles gold.

This discipline is full of talent – and unlike the men’s singles it’s not dominated by one person – so it will be an intriguing contest right from the beginning. All tournaments offer a rising intensity as players progress through the rounds: physical endurance can be sapped as well as the emotional drain of competition. The parity of ability amongst the top seeds means that being able to deal with tournament pressure will have a huge part to play. Who will relish the fight?

“…every player has a chance of being crowned champion.” Ratchanok

Nozomi Okuhara: Contender

Nozomi’s been in the waiting room this year – she hasn’t enjoyed the same level of success as Akane and yet she is a fabulous player. Her tactics often mean she gets stuck in a war of attrition so I’d like to see a bit less patience and more drive to finish off a rally. I think her edge is blunted by predictability so it would be great to see her surprise her opponent (& us!) a bit more often. Prediction: Final.

Tai Tzu Ying: The Queen

Shutterstock

Tai Tzu Ying has never won the World Championships and goes into this competition as #2 seed. Because of her hints about retirement and her lack of big tournament form recently, fans have focused on this title with the sense that time is running out. I cannot pretend to be neutral about Tai Tzu Ying – the way she plays is brilliant and gives me so much pleasure – so I wish I felt more confident about this tournament. Her possible path to the final is tough and includes Sindhu who would relish a big battle. Prediction Semi Final.

Akane: World #1

Akane’s triumph at the Indonesian Open quickly followed by success in the Japan Open – her home tournament – means that she enters the World Championships as #1. Since disappointment in the Sudirman Cup her game has become more aggressive with a willingness to push her rivals around. She can’t just win everything from now on though, can she? Prediction Semi Final.

Chen Yufei

Feifei is a very clever player with the might of the Chinese coaches behind her. I think she is good at rebalancing her game to beat whoever she faces. Often she traps ‘flair’ players into thinking they will conquer her by playing their natural game. She waits it out and then finishes them off; her natural strength means she can get through three draining games. It’s been said that her weakness is her inability to cope with her nerves but this seems to be eratic. Prediction: Final

P V Sindhu: fighter

(Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)

Sindhu is renowned as a big match player and this skill is a huge advantage in the top tournaments. By her own standards 2019 has been quite quiet but July saw her spring into life. It was great to see a refreshed player getting her game back. I love her style when she unleashes her inner badminton beast and dominates the court with her aggressive smashes and drives. I think that’s going to be the secret of success for her; when she’s confident and plays like that she can become unstoppable. She is seeded 5 and her path to success looks very tough: Zhang Beiwen in R16 and possibly TTY in the quarters. Prediction: QF owing to hard draw.

Saina Nehwal

2019 has seen Saina endure various injuries and this has obviously disrupted her training programme. Her half of the draw is no picnic & includes players like Chen Yufei and P V Sindhu. She always has the desire to win and heaps of experience but realistically I can’t see her progressing beyond QF. That’s not necessarily a bad performance in the context of her year so far. I see this competition as her opportunity to continue to work on her match fitness and focus on her aim to get to Tokyo 2020. Prediction QF

Ratchanok Intanon

“… women’s singles is so competitive that on any given day whoever can control herself and play her style of game will be the champion.” Ratchanok

May lost out in the Thailand Open Final to Chen Yufei but she played very well in that match. CYF won because she played with patience and endurance – often in rallies she was content to simply keep sending the shuttle back. Towards the end May did slightly alter her approach but by that point it was too late. It’s been noticeable that since then she has been posting plenty of evidence on IG of her hard work in the gym so perhaps this means she’s preparing her body for longer games with less reliance upon a dazzling winner and more focus on turning the screw. Prediction Semi Final

Any Surprises?

Funny things can happen in knock-out tournaments; sometimes athletes really fly through their games and suddenly find themselves in a quarter final. The Indonesian players -Fitriani & Tunjung – are both talented but frustratingly inconsistent. Their homeland can have high hopes of medals from others but it would be a welcome shock if honours came from WS.

Michelle Li from Canada can push anyone on her day and often gets good results but realistically I don’t think she would trouble Chen Yufei (assuming she gets past Saina).

Chochuwong had a great run in the Thailand Open but again her draw is tricky. Lastly He Be Jiao is seeded 6 so has to be taken seriously as a possible semi-finalist.

So, in conclusion…

That gold medal, that title, the culmination of years of work, is realistically within the reach of about eight of the players. It’s going to take an immense effort – physically and emotionally – to clinch the prize. I also think it requires someone to play with inspiration and joy; there is more to winning this than mere sweat and toil.

© 2019 Amanda Bloss All Rights Reserved

Another Sensational Player From China: CHEN Yu Fei

Women’s singles in badminton is crammed with talent, we watch a game blessed with a golden generation of athletes from around the world. But there is one player recently who is always catching the eye and I think she may be on the brink of dominating the game for a while to come: Chen Yu Fei.

Since her success at the 2018 Fuzhou Chinese Open Chen has been on an upward trajectory. 2019 has been an amazing year for her: so far she has won the All England Open, the Swiss Open and the Australian Open. These finals saw her beat opponents over two straight games.

Video courtesy of Badminton England

I watched her play in the final at the All England Open this year and went to the game fully expecting Tai Tzu Ying to play at her imperious best and be crowned Queen of the court. Things turned out a lot differently to that…

Photo credit: Hafiz Johari/Shutterstock.com

Shivani Naik from the Indian Express says that Chen neutralised Tai in that match and I think that analysis is spot on. We all watch Tai and expect her to conquer opponents through a mix of fabulous deception and Zen-like calm. Chen refused to stand admiringly on the other side of the net and rejected the opportunity to be beaten. Tai was made to run around and there were too many times when she was scrambling for the shuttle. She just could not dominate in her usual way.

Her performances in the Sudirman Cup this year were excellent. The highlights video below illustrates her athletic, full-on approach.

Both players finish the match flat out on the court. Video courtesy BWF

Chen looks very fit – she is simultaneously springy and unyielding – and there is a grit to her make up. She is obstinate, she hustles, she doesn’t give up, she declines defeat. Every shot her opponent tries is retrieved. Not just that, she defends relentlessly and then switches to attack, pushing back on her rival. She doesn’t make many mistakes, and although it sounds obvious, it is a huge advantage in any match. This must be exhausting to play against.

I think she is great at the net. Although not the tallest at 171cm she has a great reach and lunges well to get to the shuttle. Unlike P V Sindhu she doesn’t have particularly steep smashes in her armour, nor does she have a long-legged stride to cover the court. What she does have is fast reactions and confidence in her ability so she often seems to bulldoze to victory.

So, what does the future hold for the kid who took up badminton because she was naughty? Well, Chen has a formidable team behind her and arguably the best coaching resources in the world are in China; after she won at the All England this year she was quick to acknowledge the people whose know-how helped her. She has mentioned before that her ambition is to “see the Chinese flag rising” so I’m certain that she is eyeing Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020 as well as the top titles on the BWF tour. There’s lots of competition in the women’s game these days so it won’t be easy but who is going to beat her?

If you enjoyed reading this follow the link to my article about Tai Tzu Ying, Chen Yu Fei’s main rival for the World Number 1 spot https://womensbadminton.co.uk/2019/07/01/tai-tzu-ying-goddess-or-mortal/

You may also like to find out about An Se Young – the Korean has burst onto the badminton scene recently https://womensbadminton.co.uk/2019/07/08/an-se-young-koreas-sensational-17-year-old/

©2019 Amanda Bloss All Rights Reserved

Tai Tzu Ying: Taiwan’s Sporting Icon

Is Tai Tzu Ying the best ever women’s singles player?

My top takeaway from watching her at the All England Open Championships this year is that it would be impossible to name anyone else who plays in such an exciting way. She became World Number 1 back in 2016 after a dominant year and has been at the top ever since; winning back to back singles titles at the All England in 2017 and 2018.

A few years back when I first started watching her, I was confused by her unhurried style. She keeps smiling and keeps winning. No one is number 1 in the world by chance so I started to try and understand why she is so successful.

Photo credit Bonma Suriya/shutterstock.com

What sets her apart is her mind-blowing deception. She is a true artist: racket in hand, the quality of her trickery is amazing. Check out the compilation video posted by Shuttle Flash on YouTube. The variation in her game – the range of shots and angles – is staggering. She caresses the shuttle with deadly accuracy and finishes off rallies in jaw dropping style.

Video courtesy Shuttle Flash

Tai skims over the court and covers the corners with ease – moving in her own dance – all smooth agility and balance. She is so relaxed and at one with her game that her opponents have to put their foot on the gas to compete. Like many top sport stars time seems to expand to contain her talent.

She is a very brave player who is relentless in her pursuit of her opponent. This method of constantly daring her rival to match her sublime flair is exciting to watch but must be psychologically exhausting to play against…And, the best ever? Well, maybe not yet, she has no Olympic Gold, but the prospect of the women’s singles competition at Tokyo 2020 is just fascinating. Who do you think will win it? Chen Yufei? Or maybe Akane Yamaguchi? Let me know via comments.

There is stacks of talent in the women’s game at the moment but Tai Tzu Ying is extraordinary in her genius and I never get bored of her endless brilliance.

Follow the link to my article which celebrates her triumph at the All England in 2020 https://womensbadminton.co.uk/2020/03/23/tai-tzu-ying-the-triple-champion/

If you enjoyed this take a look at my longer article about TTY https://womensbadminton.co.uk/2019/07/01/tai-tzu-ying-goddess-or-mortal/

and this piece about Akane, one of her main rivals for the World #1 spot https://womensbadminton.co.uk/2019/08/09/japans-akane-yamaguchi-hotter-than-july/

©2019 Amanda Bloss All Rights Reserved