All England Just Around the Corner

All England just around the corner

Jan16, 2006

After the recent Swiss Open and the even more recent German Open, things are now all settled for the third leg of the European tour,with the All England badminton championships beginning on Tuesday, January 17th in Birmingham. It all started in 1900, and 106 years later, men and women with lighter rackets will fight for the coveted title with the same energy as in the past.

In the mens single event, Lin Dan and Bao Chunlai, the two friends who had once fought for the world title in the junior circuit, will be sharing the honours of getting the top two seeded spots. Lin Dan will play Jang Young Soon for a first tricky match, while Bao should enjoy an easier match against John Moody of New Zealand.

Yet as always, for this prestigious event, there will be some very appealing first matches, such as Gade playing Koreas Park Sung Hwan, Lee Tsuen Seng against Dwi Kuncoro, but most of all, Hafiz Hashim, former winner here in Birmingham against the German Open winner last Sunday, Chen Jin. Its almost impossible to draw a certain quarter final line up, but according to logic, Lin should be meeting Denmarks Jonassen on Friday, then Lee Chong Wei against the title holder Chen Hong, Peter Gade against probably Hafiz, Chen Jin or even Ponsana, who are all three drawn in the most difficult part of the draw. Lastly, the English public should see a nice quarter final match between Lee Hyun Il and Bao Chunlai, even if a third round clash between Bao and Sony sounds just as exotic….

The ladies will have a bit more of a rest, at least the top shuttlers will, as they start their journey on Thursday only. And for this category, all the best in the world have made the trip. Things may not be as easy as the world ranking shows for Zhang Ning against teenager Yip from Hong Kong in her first round, while Xie Xingfang will play one of Oceanias heroes in the world championships, Rebecca Bellingham.

As always, China has come with their top flight, even if Zhu Lin and Wang Lin have not entered the draw. Their compatriots Lu Lan and Jiang Yanjiao could be the ones to watch this week. Lu Lan will be hoping to meet Pi Hongyan for another interesting tie in the third round, while Jiang could have the honour of meeting Mia Audina at the same stage.

Tracey Hallam, one of the local hopes will be facing the ever dangerous Cheng from Chinese Taipei in the first round, while Elizabeth Cann, the National Champion, will have to play a first round against Japans Hirayama. A very special guest will be appearing as well on day one, when Tine Rasmussen, from Denmark, returns to high level competition after a few months away from the court. She had left the Uber Cup semi final in a dramatic accident, snapping her Achilles tendon but will be making her big comeback for this event, a little like Judith Meulendijks, of the Netherlands, whose injury has led to her starting at the qualifying rounds of this event.

As always, during the All England, the mens double competition will be one of the most exciting ones, with all the top pairs entering the draw as well. It will be the definite big test for the Danish new pairs, with the hopes that Thomas Laybourn will be feeling better after his foot injury in Switzerland. He will have to play at his best from scratch as they play Indonesias new kids on the block, Kido and Setiawan. Not much luck either for the other new pair, Rasmussen and Steffensen, whose draw will not give them a lot of time to warm up as they are to play against the title holders, Chinas Cai and Fu, as early as the first round.

Denmarks fourth pair of Boe and Mogesen will meet Englands Blair and Clarke for a special treat. Top seeds Budiarto and Wijaya will be hoping for a replay of their amazing 2003 success while compatriots Alven and Luluk are drawn to meet German Open winners Lee and Jung of Korea for an explosive first round clash. Lee Wan Wah and Choong Tan Fook will be reunited and hope for a quarter final which could revive memories of their 2004 final against Eriksen and Lundgaard which was won by the Danes after some controversy over a umpires call. Exciting matches ahead !

The womens double once again could be a fierce show for the Chinese pairs who have sent only three pairs this time. A good opportunity for another nation to get close to the podium. Yet Gao Ling and Huang Sui, with the number one spot to their names, will be the clear favourites for this event, which they have won consecutively for five years now, hoping for another record of six titles in a row. Lee and Lee of Korea could be their biggest fear outside their own compatriots at the total opposite of the draw, but with a much tougher draw ahead for the Koreans.

In their part of the draw, Ang and Lee of Malaysia will be the first to try their luck, then the undecided winners of Andersen/Schjoldager and Kostiuczyk/Augustyn, before a possible clash with Thailands Saralee and Sathinee. An expected semi final against Olympic champions Zhang and Yang are also on the cards… Gail Emms and Donna Kellogg are seeded 4th with a clear hope to reach at least the quarter finals where they are set to meet Chinas Wei and Zhang.

Last but not least - for the locals - Gail Emms and Nathan Robertson will definitely be the heroes to watch in the mixed double event, as the title holders in Birmingham have been drawn to play in the lower half of the draw. Seeded third, the British duo will have to go past a tricky second round against Denmarks Rasmussen/Andersen, and mostly against Xie and Zhang, of China, in the quarter final.

In the same part of the draw, Indonesias best Widianto/Natsir could be facing Denmarks new team of Laybourn and Rytter-Juhl at this same stage. The top of the draw isnt bad either, with expected quarter final clashes between Lee/Lee and Eriksen/Schjoldager on one side and Prapakamol/Thungthongkam against Zhang and Gao on the other. All these matches will be a good reason to follow the scene either live on the official website, or on the new live streaming video system on www.247.tv More information about the time, schedules and draws please refer to Badminton Englands official website: http://www.badmintonengland.co.uk