The draws for the tournamant are out at www.worldbadminton.net A first glance seems to suggest that they are pretty similar to that of the HK Open 2005. For example: Lin Dan is again expected to meet Taufik Hidayat in the semi-final for MS. I will analyze the possible matches in MS in a later post. In MD top half, the fourth-seeded Lars Paaske/Jonas Rasmussen again has to face the fifth-seeded Fu Haifeng/Cai Yun in the quarter-final and the eventual winner is expected to meet the first seeded Candra Wijaya/Sigit Budiarto. Meanwhile, Candra/Sigit has to first overcome the Olympic bronze medallist Flandy Limpele/Eng Hian in the second round and perhaps the fast-improving eight-seeded young Malaysian pair of Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari/Lin Woon Fui in the quarter-final. In the bottom half, the second-seeded Jens Eriksen/Martin Lundgaard Hansen also has a tough task. They have a tricky first round tie against the young Chinese pair of Guo Zhendong/Xie Zhongbo. If they win, they will meet another young Malaysian pair Tan Bin Shen/Ong Soon Hock. The winner is paired against the winner of the match between Jung Jae Sung/Han Sang Hoon and the sixth-seeded Matias Boe/Carsten Mogensen in the quarter-final. Similarly, the third-seeded Luluk Hadiyanto/Alven Yulianto face a tough draw. They are drawn to face Choong Tan Fook/Lee Wan Wah in the second round, and the winner is expected to meet the seventh seeded Markis Kido/Hendra Setiawan in the quarter-final. Of course, Markis/Hendra has to clear a relatively tough first round hurdle in Thomas Laybourn/Peter Steffensen. In MXD, the first-seeded world champion (Nova Widianto/Lilyana Natsir) has an easy route to the quarter-final. The Chinese new pairing of Zheng Bo/Zhao Tingting (Chen Qiqiu has just retired) is expected to meet the sixth-seeded Thomas Laybourn/Kamilla Rytter-Juhl in the second round, with the winner expected to meet Nova/Lilyana in the quarter-final. Meanwhile, the third-seeded Zhang Jun/Gao Ling should be expected to meet the fifth-seeded Nathan Robertson/Gail Emms in the other quarter-final. In the second-half, the second-seeded Lee Jae Jin/Lee Hyo Jung also should progress to the quarter-final. The other Indonesian pair of Anggun Nugroho/Yunita Tetty has a tough draw: the WC bronze-medallist Daniel Shirley/Sara-Runesten Petersen and possibly the eight-seeded Robert Blair/Natalie Munt in the second round. The winner will meet Lee/Lee in the quarter-final. The seventh-seeded WC silver-medallist Xie Zhongbo/Zhang Yawen has a tricky second round tie against the new pairing of Jonas Rasmussen/Britta Andersen. The winner should meet the fourth-seeded Jens Eriksen/Mette Schjoldager in the other quarter-final.
Here's the players in the respective-quarters in MS: Quarter 1: Lin Dan (1*) Dicky Palyama (15*) or Shon Seung Mo Chen Hong (5*) Bobby Milroy (13*) So, Lin Dan should face the winner between Dicky Palyama and Shon Seung Mo in the third-round, with the winner possibly facing Chen Hong in the quarter-final. Quarter 2: Taufik Hidayat (4*) Kuan Beng Hong (10*) Peter Gade (6*) Agus Hariyanto (16*) or Gong Weijie Again, pretty straight forward for the seeds in the first two rounds, except for the aging Agus Hariyanto. A possible titanic clash in the quarter-final between Taufik Hidayat and Peter Gade awaits in the quarter-final. The winner will face Lin Dan/Chen Hong in the semi-final. Quarter 3: Chen Yu (12*) Lee Hyun Il (7*) Sony Dwi Kuncoro (11*) Bao Chunlai (3*) What can I say....Simon Santoso is once more unlucky (possibly due to his low World Ranking). Almost everytime, he's drawn against a top player in the second or third round. This time, he will possibly meet Bao Chunlai in the second round and if he's LUCKY enough, his compatriot Sony Dwi Kuncoro awaits in the third round. The other 2 seeds should also clear their first two hurdles and I think the in-form Lee Hyun-Il will progress to the quarter-final. Quarter 4: Wong Choong Han (9*) Ng Wei (8*) Chen Jin (14*)/Xia Xuanze Kenneth Jonassen (2*) With both Hafiz and Lee Chong Wei absent in this tournament, Wong Choong Han and Kuan Beng Hong are the seeded Malaysian players. Wong should face Ng Wei in the third round. The other quarter-final should feature the winner of the second round match between Chen Jin and Xia Xuanze (battle of the old and new guards) and Kenneth Jonassen.
Women's Singles: Top Half: Zhang Ning (1*)/Jian Yanjiao Yao Jie (6*)/Chen Lanting Wang Chen (3*)/Zhou Mi Tracey Hallam (8*)/Chen Li/Zhu Lin The Chinese are in full-force, with the youngsters involved after their success at the Chinese National Games. The gold-medallist Jiang Yanjiao will meet Zhang Ning in the second round. The other youngsters such as Chen Li, Zhu Lin or Chen Lanting could upset the seeds like Yao Jie or Tracey Hallam. Chen Li should beat Tracey Hallam in the first round, with the winner facing Zhu Lin. Another interesting second round match feature Wang Chen and Zhou Mi. Bottom Half: Lu Lan/Xu Huaiwen (5*) Wang Rong/Wang Yihan/Pi Hongyan (4*) Wang Lin/Mia Audina Tjiptawan (7*) Xie Xingfang (2*) Apart from the second-seeded Xie Xingfang, all the other seeds are also in danger of falling to the Chinese youngsters. Lu Lan has an interesting rematch against the fifth-seeded Xu Huaiwen. The Denmark Open champion Pi Hongyan will definitely not relish facing either Wang Rong or Wang Yihan in front of the home crowd. The seventh-seeded Mia Audina Tjiptawan has to beat Wang Lin before meeting Xie Xingfang in the quarter-final.
Women's Doubles: Top Half: Yang Wei/Zhang Jiewen (1*) Gail Emms/Donna Kellog (5*) Lee Kyung Won/Lee Hyo Jung (3*) Tracey Hallam/Natalie Munt (8*) The semi-final will again probably feature Yang/Zhang against the third-seeded Lee Kyung Won/Lee Hyo Jung. The Koreans must be sick of facing the world champion, having been thrashed in the WC semi-final and possibly meeting them twice in a week in both the HK and China Open. Jo Novita/Gresya Polii can win their first round match against the Taiwanese pair of Chien Yu-Chin/Cheng Wen-Hsing, and if luck is on their side, they could probably sneak an upset against the eight-seeded Tracey Hallam/Natalie Munt. A quarter-final placing will be considered a success, with valuable ranking points gained. Bottom Half: Wei Yili/Zhao Tingting (6*) Zhang Dan/Zhang Yawen (4*) Ella Tripp/Joanne Nicholas (7*) Gao Ling/Huang Sui (2*) The other Indonesian pair of Lita Nurlita/Nathalia Poluakan again has a bad draw, with first-round match against the fourth-seeded Zhang Dan/Zhang Yawen. Gao Ling/Huang Sui should have a pretty smooth ride to the semi-final where they will meet their compatriot, either the sixth-seeded Wei Yili/Zhao Tingting or Zhang/Zhang.
where are tony gunanwan and halim hariyanto ?? when r they goin 2 play their next tournament ?? just wondering how well they can do ??
l didn't find lcw either, so he is really not coming... hope the indos won't change their mind and quit at the last minuts... i have got the tickets for guangzhou
Tony and Halim.. Tony and Halim are currently in the U.S. and they will be playing in a local U.S. International tournament this week(held at OCBC) http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/tournament.asp?id=8942. They will not travel to Asia(for China Open) next week and/or rest of the year. And as for their next competition mode, they'll play next year but most likely play in selected smaller star IBF tourneys. But for their immediate agenda, I think it's to promote the sport in the U.S., as noted in another thread about a possible tournament in Michigan, U.S. http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/clbp/message/420. Hmm, i wonder how the interest list will grow out of that, with the event being held in a small city in Northville, MI.
Tony will play in the Taiwan Open though. And consider pairing up with the Taiwanese Player for mixed double, Cheng, Wen Hsing.
Looking at the draws of this tourney, i wouldn't be surprise to see China's team dominate the event(win 4 out of 5 or all 5 fields). I mean they are playing in front of their own homecrowd. However, badminton fans in the China region, could be treated to back-to-back-to-back matches between LinDan and Taufik if they do indeed meet in this HK Open and China Open. Then next month, of course there's another Invitation tourney in China...
Ok, i stand corrected....harimau is local at OCBC and his info should be more clearer...However, i don't know why would Tony travel(without his doubles pair??) to Taiwan to play XD with another Taiwanese player, other than it's an invitation and play there as a guest..
