Korean pairs could rattle champs China
News 3:32 PM
IT WILL be a mouth-watering feast for badminton fans if South Korea decide to field their strongest doubles line-up for the Thomas Cup Group A tie against defending champions China today.
They do not have the services of doubles star Lee Yong-dae but South Korea are by no means pushovers.
The Koreans have the ability to rattle China but much will depend on their doubles line-ups' ability to deliver points.
Crack pair: South Korea's Ko Sung-hyun (left) and Yoo Yeon-seong are the current Swiss Open champions. And if the ruling by Badminton World Federation (BWF) to use the national ranking system as the guidelines for the Thomas-Uber Cup Finals provides any indications, one can expect South Korea to field Jung-Jae-sung to partner Shin Baek-cheol for a first doubles match against world champions Fu Haifeng-Cai Yun.
Jae-sung did not play when South Korea opened their campaign with a 5-0 win over Peru yesterday.
South Korea fielded Cho Gun-woo-Yoo Yeon-seong while Baek-cheol partnered Kim Ki-jung for the first and second doubles matches respectively.
If South Korea opt for Jae-sung-Baek-cheol as their first doubles pair, they have the option to field Swiss Open champions Ko Sung-hyun-Yeon-seong for the second doubles match against either Guo Zhendong-Xu Chen or Chai Biao-Zhang Nan.
The national rankings guideline will make South Korea a stronger threat as they have two pairs to rely on to steal points from China.
And as the most experienced doubles player among the Koreans, Jae-sung did not deny they are looking at the suitable choices.
“I don't know who I have to partner. It will be either Baek-cheol or Gun-woo. Both players are talented and I am comfortable playing with them,” said Jae-sung, who with Yong-dae twice finished as the runners-up in the world championships.
On the absence of his regular partner, with whom he has captured many Super Series titles over the last three years, Jae-sung said that there was more responsibility for him.
“My partner has an elbow injury and he needs to recover properly as there are more important tournaments to come,” he said.
“That's why he is not here but I feel we will still be okay. We have other capable youngsters in the team and our hope is that they can shine here.”
With the exception of Jae-sung, the remaining doubles players in the South Korean team are making their Thomas Cup debuts.
Shon Wan-ho is also a first-timer in the Korean singles cast, comprising Park Sung-hwan, Hong Ji-hoon and Lee Hyun-il.
They do not have the services of doubles star Lee Yong-dae but South Korea are by no means pushovers.
The Koreans have the ability to rattle China but much will depend on their doubles line-ups' ability to deliver points.
Crack pair: South Korea's Ko Sung-hyun (left) and Yoo Yeon-seong are the current Swiss Open champions. Jae-sung did not play when South Korea opened their campaign with a 5-0 win over Peru yesterday.
South Korea fielded Cho Gun-woo-Yoo Yeon-seong while Baek-cheol partnered Kim Ki-jung for the first and second doubles matches respectively.
If South Korea opt for Jae-sung-Baek-cheol as their first doubles pair, they have the option to field Swiss Open champions Ko Sung-hyun-Yeon-seong for the second doubles match against either Guo Zhendong-Xu Chen or Chai Biao-Zhang Nan.
The national rankings guideline will make South Korea a stronger threat as they have two pairs to rely on to steal points from China.
And as the most experienced doubles player among the Koreans, Jae-sung did not deny they are looking at the suitable choices.
“I don't know who I have to partner. It will be either Baek-cheol or Gun-woo. Both players are talented and I am comfortable playing with them,” said Jae-sung, who with Yong-dae twice finished as the runners-up in the world championships.
On the absence of his regular partner, with whom he has captured many Super Series titles over the last three years, Jae-sung said that there was more responsibility for him.
“My partner has an elbow injury and he needs to recover properly as there are more important tournaments to come,” he said.
“That's why he is not here but I feel we will still be okay. We have other capable youngsters in the team and our hope is that they can shine here.”
With the exception of Jae-sung, the remaining doubles players in the South Korean team are making their Thomas Cup debuts.
Shon Wan-ho is also a first-timer in the Korean singles cast, comprising Park Sung-hwan, Hong Ji-hoon and Lee Hyun-il.
Posted by Lucas Liau
on 3:32 PM.
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