Cause Japan Open are only 2 weeks after WC2006, there will be be little time to improve for a player. Players who play well in WC 2006 probably should find the same results here. Some mouth watering fights: Can Peter Gade get revenge against Chen Hong in QF? Can LCW get revenge against Bao CL in SF? But Bao had to play Taufik in R32. Hard draw! And Kenneth in QF. Mean while LCW probably will meet Chen Yu who already beat him twice this year. The unluckiest person must be Hafiz. He had the QF draw against LD probably for fourth time in a row. But at least he will reach QF round. Seems like LD had the best chance to win the title. In MD, 3 pairs had the biggest chance to win the title: Cai/Fu, Tony/Chandra and Jens/Martin. In WS: Seems like another ZN VS XXF final. In WD: Without Korean players, it will be another all Chinese WD SF. In XD: Zhang/Gao had the chance to get revenge when they play Anthony/Donna in QF. Can they do it? Lots of top players play here except Nathan/Gail. So it will be hard to predict the winner.
I think Chen Yu is going to have a hard time in second round against Korean Open runner up Roslin Hashim who beat him in Korean Open qtr final. LCW will have some Malaysian players to eliminate some of Chinese opponents for him. (same as Lin Dan).
Good news for Simon.......KBH is not going to JO due to health problems....he might take part only in CO....:crying: ........:crying:
A silver lining in the current dark clouds surrounding Team Pelatnas indeed (if the news is true)! I can't imagine having all 3 MS eliminated as early as the first round. If KBH really stays at home, Simon has a chance to play Chen Hong in the Round of 16. I will be very very suprised if Taufik and Sony can beat Bao Chunlai and Lee Chong Wei respectively. Nova Widianto/Lilyana Natsir will look forward to banish the disappointment from the WC early exit as they are once again seeded first. However, they will face a tricky tie against Jonas Rasmussen/Britta Andersen as early as the first round. The Danish pair has improved a lot over the past few months, so, Nova/Butet have to be in their top form! Another Danish pair also awaits in the second round as Lars Passke/Helle Nielsen are expected to beat Lee Jae Jin/Jung Youn Kyung (apparently, Lee Hyo Jung have not recovered). Let's see if the ex WC can bounce back in Japan Open. I will be satisfied with at least a semi-final apperance. For the other 2 XD pairs, Mohd Rizal/Greysia Polii should pass their first test and meet Zhang Jun/Gao Ling in the second round. A win will be a huge huge upset. Likewise, Flandy Limpele/Vita Marissa should also breeze through the first round and expected to meet the WC silver-medallist Anthony Clark/Robert Blair in the second round. Chance is 50-50....and I would be satisfied if they can enter quarter-final in their first tournament as a pair. Guess what, their quarter-final opponent is likely to be Zhang Jun/Gao Ling! The non-Pelatnas veterain pairing of Tri Kusharyanto/Minarti Timur also face a qualifier in the first round and should play against Thomas Laybourn/Kamilla Rytter-Juhl in the second round. Xie Zhongbo/Zhang Yawen should await the winner in the QF. For the WD, Jo Novita/Greysia Polii ONCE AGAIN have to encounter a Chinese pair in Wei Yili/Zhang Yawen as early as the second round! Finally, Tony Gunawan/Candra Wijaya are expected to play against Lars Paaske/Jonas Rasmussen in an exciting second round match. The winner of that match should progress smoothly to the semi-final where the current WC Cai Yun/Fu Haifeng awaits.
