YONEX JAPAN OPEN 2009 - No farewell party for Xie Xingfang

The news came through Li Yongbo, her team manager : Xie Xingfang has decided to retire. “Xie has proven she is one of the best players in the world," said Li. " The October National Games are likely to be her last tournament. We respect her decision. I believe she will continue to devote herself to the sport in a different way,” he said.

Xie will not be competing in Japan for what would have been her last international appearance – she pulled out in spite of having her name in the draw. This might be a relief for Lu Lan, Wang Yihan and top seed Zhou Mi of Hong Kong who were in the same half of the draw as Xie.

Zhou Mi, on her end, will take on Indonesia's Adriyanti Firdasari as a spicy starter. The strong line up leads to some mouth watering confrontations as early as the first round : Jiang Yanjiao of China will play Saina Nehwal (India), Juliane Schenk (Germany) will be taking on Tine Rasmussen (Denmark) for a clash amongst Europeans. Wang Lin (China), seeded second, faces Judith Meulendijks (Netherlands) for a tricky first round as well, before a probable meeting with compatriot Zhu Lin.

In the men’s singles, the very best have made the trip to Japan, except for Lin Dan, who has apparently vowed to focus on fewer events – he will be the only one missing from a strong China squad, including Chen Jin, Bao Chunlai, Gong Weije and Asian Badminton Championships runner up Chen Long.

Lee Chong Wei, top seed, will be then the clear favourite to take this title. Beaten in the final in 2008 by Sony Dwi Kuncoro, the Malaysian has a very tough first round in the name of Boonsak Ponsana, recent finalist at the Li Ning China Masters 2009.

The Thai wonder, out of the top 8, was unlucky in his draw and will have to pull his best badminton to trouble the Olympic silver medallist. And then, should Lee prevail, he will have to probably face back to back Simon Santoso and Dwi Kuncoro – one of his nemesis as shown in the recent world championships in India – in the quarter finals.

Dwi Kuncoro, however, should be warned of Thailand’s Saensomboonsuk for his first round, and then, Chen Long.

Another clash for this first round – scheduled on Wednesday – is one between Wong Choong Hann and Park Sung Hwan of Korea. If the latter is higher seeded – at No 6 – the Malaysian has never been so efficient, with a recent final in Chinese Taipei, beating Taufik Hidayat en route to his silver medal.

The Malaysian – should he beat Park – could face Taufik again as the 4^th seed from Indonesia is in his quarter. Peter Gade, also in a great form lately, will be eying a quarter final match against Bao Chunlai. His first opponent is England’s Rajiv Ouseph, whom he’s never lost to – the only non Danish to have scalped the great Gade for the past 10 years is Dicky Palyama.

Chen Jin, seeded 2^nd, will be hoping to go one step further than his world championship berth –especially since the one who beat him in Hyderabad is missing (Lin Dan) . He starts his journey with a qualifier who will come from the home stable of Japan.

Vietnam’s Nguyen Tien Minh will be a player to watch out for as well after the shuttler made the headline in his home country’s biggest newspaper, being the first one to enter a spot within the top 8 in the world, thanks to his impressive run this summer. Nguyen will face Lind Thomsen from Denmark, before a clash against one of the two Japanese fighters Sho Sasaki or Kazuchi Yamada.

A remake of the final of the world Championships in India could be on the cards in the men’s doubles as Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng were drawn in the opposite half from Lee Yong Dae-Jung Jae Sung. However, the rematch will not happen as both pairs withdrew citing injury.

In fact, Cai and Fu conceded the men’s doubles final last week in China while Yong Dae is known to be out injured as well. This could benefit Indonesians Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan who are back on track.

The top seeds, who had missed the World Championships meeting because of Kido’s high blood pressure, will be out there to fight for the crown, with a first Korean dish in the name of Yoo Yeon Seong-Goo Gun Woo– a great way to know whether they’ve lost their winning touch.

Indonesia has sent a strong line up, with the usual good relationship between National or former national shuttlers from PBSI and Japanese clubs. Candra Wijaya will be featured with his brother Rendra, while six pairs all together will represent the red and white flag.

Red and white also, but in a different shape for the two Danish pairs. Easier draw for Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen, seeded 4^th, while Lars Paaske-Jonas Rasmussen will have no time to warm up as they’ll be facing Howard Bach-Tony Gunawan in the first round. Malaysia, also, will be in Tokyo with a strong squad with Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong as second seeds, to face the upcoming Japanese pair of Kazuno and Hayakawa.

Only two Chinese pairs – Du Jing-Yu Yang and Ma Jin-Wang Xiaoli - will feature in the women’s doubles and with both Chinese pairs drawn in the same half, it will provide an opportunity for the other pairs to make the most of it.

In the absence of Lee Kyung Won and Lee Hyo Jung, Korea’s top pair will be Kim Jung Min-Ha Jung Eun, taking the number two spot for this competition.

Posted by Lucas Liau on 9:02 AM. Filed under News, Xie Xing Fang . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0