KOREAN OPEN TO LAUNCH 2010 SUPER SERIES
The Korean Open will kick off the 2010 Super Series with its US300,000 prize money on 12th January. In previous years, the Korean Championships, one of the richest in the series had followed the opening leg in Kuala Lumpur but this season, the Malaysian event will be the second in the 12-leg series.
According to confirmed entries, Lin Dan, Taufik Hidayat and Sony Dwi Kuncoro have opted out from the Men Singles which will place Lee Chong Wei in a favourably position to use the championship as the launchpad for a good start to the new year.
The Open will also witness the absence of a number of top players, primarily from China in all five disciplines. In Ladies Singles, the top two Chinese, Wang Yihan and Wang Lin and India’s Saina Nehwal will not be in action as well as four of the world’s leading Doubles pairs - Ma Jin & Wang Xiaoli and Du Jing & Yu Yang of China, Malaysians Chin Hui Eii & Wong Pei Tty and Lee Hyo-jung & Lee Kyung Won of Korea.
Chinese players will also be conspicuously missing in the Men Doubles as will be the Malaysians Koo Kien Kiat & Tan Boon Hee and the Indonesian pairing of Markis Kido & Hendra Setiawan. Indonesia’s Nova Widianto & Lilyana and Natsir have not been entered for the Mixed event.
At first glance, the Korean Open may not showcase the best from the world, but it will carry enough ‘fire-power’ to make it a really competitive tournament. Joining Chong Wei in the Singles will be the Dane Peter Gade, two lower ranked Chinese players Chen Jin and Bao Chunlai and the Korean Park Sung Hwon.
In the Ladies blue-riband event, Time Rasmussen, Zhou Mi and Lu Lan would be the front runners while in the Doubles, Cheng Shu Chu & Zhao Yunlei of China should start favourites over a chasing pack that would include Japan’s Muzuki Fujii & Reika Kakiiwa.
The Mixed Doubles would have three pairs sorting themselves out for the title with Koreans Lee Dong Jae & Lee Hyo Jung the favourite. Standing in their way will be Denmark’s Joachim Fisher & Christina Pedersen and the Chinese pair He Hanbin & Yu Yang.
Just a week ago, the badminton programme for 2009 closed with two minor yet exciting tournaments – the Syed Modi Championship in India and the traditional year-ending Copenhagen series in Denmark too place. In both the tournaments, local players dominated.
Indians Chetan Anand and Saina Nehwal won the Men and Ladies Singles and Aparna Balan & Arun Vishnu took the Mixed event in the Syed Modi Memorial. Indonesia and Japan shared out the other two titles with Adnan Fauzi & Tri Kusumawardana winning the Men Doubles and Misaki Matsutomo & Akaya Takahashi, the ladies Doubles.
In Copenhagen, Danish players completely dominated, winning all the four titles. There was no Ladies Doubles in that tournament. Jan Jorgensen and Tine Rasmussen won the Men and Ladies Singles titles respectively while the time-tested veterans Lars Paaske & Jonas Rasmussen came through stronger against teammates Mathias Boe & Carsten Mogensen in the Doubles. Thomas Laybourn & Kamilla Rytter Juhl did not have to enter the court to pick up the Gold Medal when their opponents in the Mixed Doubles Robert Mateusiak & Nadiezda Kostiuczyk from Poland conceded a walkover.
THE RESULTS
SYED MODI MEMORIAL
MEN’S SINGLES:
Chetan Anand (IND) bt Dyonisius Hayom Rumbaka (INA) 21-17, 19-21, 21-16.