i think they already pull out, heard that they are being paraded during Malaysia's Independence Day on 31st August
I am looking forward for Chen/Jia vs Apriyani/Siti in QF Japan Open I think only the Indonesians who can be serious challenge to stop Chen/Jia now.
If only BWF gave all their tournaments as much love as they gave the WC this pass two weeks with advertising and posting on social media, having people predict the outcome having TV broadcasting all 6 days ect ect … badminton would be so HUGE! . Back to having only. QF SF and F on TV And fishing youtube for streams .
Yup, also Viktor Axelsen as well, other names who had withdrawn Sindhu, Okuhara, FukuHiro, Christiansen/Boje. Usually major event like World Championships is stand alone tournament in BWF normal calendar.
MS competition offers quite unpredictable perspective here, who will be the winner and capitalise the absence of Axelsen? Possible Shi YQ-Ginting rematch at top quarter (if the Indonesian could passed Vitidsarn), the Chinese desperately needs many ranking points to compensate his 10-month long break. Interesting encounter in opening day to follow, Loh KY vs Zhao JP.
Its crazy, with Axelson gone, its so hard to pick a favorite anymore. Usually with the top seed home, the 2nd seed id the favorite but can momota really be the fav?
Picked up my 'premium' seats for the Finals today!!! As it happens, my seat is in the first row!! I am really looking forward to the proximity to the players, especially sound-wise. If you happen to see a distinctly non-Japanese looking female in the crowd, this may well be me.