Philipinnes open draws already come out http://www.internationalbadminton.org/draws.asp Indo team have new pair enghian/rian from Djarum Kudus. Jeffer Rosobin also take part in this tournament
Wow, what a bum deal. A whopping 2 top-20 players in the women's singles and 3 top-20 in men's singles! I guess 4* prize money isn't enough. I'm sure this tournament would have fared better without the date change (Thanks, Gloria). I don't know if any players are actually spooked but it's at the beginning of that string of big tournaments and it was the last one to be added to that part of the schedule. I'm sure that had some effect. The Koreans are known for sending their big guns to less popular tournaments but they are in the middle of a big domestic tournament next week. Otherwise, I'm sure they would have been there.
Some old familiar faces there. Trikus Haryanto and Minarti Timur. I haven't seen them together in ages. I guess Minarti has been in two tournaments since 2002 with Bambang Suprianto.
Indeed...my first reaction was: so few participants? The only notable participants are from Indonesia (mostly juniors and ladies), Thailand (full team, including Boonsak, Sudket/Phattapol, Saralee/Sathinee, and Sudket/Saralee), and Hong Kong (all minus Wang Chen). So, a good time for the Indonesian ladies to win some ranking pts finally. As for titles...quite hard for Team Indonesia to get one....unless Jo/Greysia or Hendra/Joko can beat higher ranks opponents.
Thanks to their low ranking points, both Firda and Nana yet again have the worst draws possible in WS. Nana faces Norhaliza Baharum in the first round, while Firda faces Soratja Chansrisukot. Norhaliza scored the crucial pt against Team Indonesia in the Uber Cup qualifying, beating Maria Kristin. Meanwhile, Soratja also created an upset in the ABC by beating Wang Yihan. It's not even likely both can now go into the second round....while other unheralded Italian and Finnish players are actually seeded.
For WD, Jo/Greysia have been seeded 4th, while Lita/Nathalia have been seeded 8th. Both should have no problems entering the QF, but face tough opponents from there onwards. Lita/Nathalia should face the top seeded Wong Pei Tty/Chin Ee Hui, while Jo/Greysia have a tricky tie against the winner between Wong Man Ching/Louisa Koon Wai Chee and possibly Lim Pek Siah/Joanne Quay Swee Ling. Jo/Greysia is expected to win though against either opponent. As the 3/4 seed, they are expected to face yet again Saralee/Sathinee in the semi-final. Saralee/Sathinee will first face See Phui Leng/Mooi Hing Yau in the QF. The other Indonesian WD pair, Endang Nur Sugianti/Rani Mundiasti will begin their partnership against a home pair, a tie they should win. However, they will face Ooi Sock Ai/Fong Chew Yen (8th seed) in the second round. A win will be a bonus...where the 3/4 seed, Duang-Anong Arunkesorn/Kunchala Vorawichitchaikul should await in the QF. Possible final scenario: Wong/Chin vs either Jo/Greysia or Saralee/Sathinee
XD is perhaps the event with least competition. I will be surprised if Sudket/Saralee could not win the title here. The top seed, Songpol/Kunchala faces a tricky tie against the Olympic silver-medallist Trikus/Minarti. On paper, Trikus/Minarti should be better...but Songphol/Kulchala are younger and have improved a lot in the past year. They are definitely not to be taken lightly. The home favorite pair: the Asuncion brother/sister combination are seeded 3/4. They have a tricky tie against a Jap pair in the second round and if they win, they are expected to face Thai's no 3 pair: Nattapon Naktong/Duang-Anong Arunkesorn. Should be a pretty interesting match. The winner will take on the either Songpol/Kunchala or Trikus/Minarti in the semi-final. The only Indo pair in the event is the newly formed partnership of Mohd Rizal/Greysia Polii. Note that this pair reached the semi-final of the World Junior Championships 2 years ago. They should have no problem entering the QF, where they are expected to face the Vietnamese pair Tran/Le Ngoc. Hopefully, they can also win and face the 2nd seed Sudket/Saralee in the semi-final.
In the MD, all seeded pairs should also reach the QF, except probably for Albertus Susanto Njoto/Yohan Hadikusumo Wiratama. They have to first negotiate Frans Kurniawan/Rendra Wijaya in the second-round. The winner of the match will face the second-seed Sudket Prapakamol/Phattapol Ngernsrisuk in the QF. The top seed, Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari/Lin Woon Fui face a tricky tie against the newly-formed Rian Sukmawan/Eng Hian (seeded 5/8 here). On paper, the young Malaysian pair should win, although Rian/Eng Hian might sneak a surprise or two. The 3/4 seed Hendra Gunawan/Joko Riyadi yet again face Songpol Anukritayawan/Nattapon Naktong (also seeded 5/8). They have squared off against each other a number of times already this year in the Asian Satelitte tournaments, with Hendra/Joko scoring easy victories, the latest one 21-12, 21-10 in the Smiling-Fish Thailand Satellite. I expect them to reach at least the semi-final and face either Mohd Tazari/Lin or Rian/Eng Hian in the semi-final. Meanwhile, Yoga Ugikasah/Yonathan Suryatama Dasuki is also seeded 3/4. They should face the 5/8 seeded Vietnamese pair Nguyen Quan Minh/Tran Thanh-Hai. Again, they are expected to win and reach the semi-final, where they will possible square-off against the second-seeded Thai pair.
Malaysian are not represented in the XD???? Shud had tried some new pairs.....at least with preparation for the future Sudirman Cup Group 1 matches in mind.
good point. malaysia doesn't seem to have any outstanding mixed doubles player. except pei tty/kien keat perhaps... but they're more focused on their respective doubles. no main mixed doubles pair in malaysia
wow canadian ws ranked 5th or 6th? must be a bad tournament haha jk but there are a lot less people than i expected ... dissapointed
