Two-time Olympic silver medallist Yoo Yong Sung has made an unpleasant exit from the Malaysian badminton coaching team.  According to a report in Malaysian daily the Star, the former Korean doubles ace quit after his requests to be given a set of players to work with steadily were denied.  Yoo criticized the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) for reporting that Yoo had quit over monetary demands and he also lamented the Malaysian press that his relationship with one-time Korean National Team coach Tan Kim Her had soured, even though it was Tan who had been instrumental in bringing Yoo to Malaysia.

To add injury to insult, BAM has cancelled Yoo’s working visa, forcing him and his family to leave the country by the end of the month, long before his lease expires.

Click here to read the full article in the Star

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Badminton New Zealand announced today that they would be nominating neither Michelle Chan nor James Eunson for Olympic participation in 2012.  While both had been declared eligible by the Badminton World Federation (BWF), according to the world body’s qualification rules, New Zealand Olympic Committee had been requiring their players to achieve a world top 24 ranking and a R16 finish at the Superseries or World Championships.

Michelle Chan was ranked world #46 in the May 3rd rankings, which the BWF used to determine Olympic eligibility, and this made her the 28th of 38 players chosen.  Eunson, meanwhile, was ranked 121st in the world but this and his title at the Badminton Oceania Championships in February gave him the continental spot for Oceania.

“Badminton New Zealand commends both Michelle and James for their hard work and recognises their commitment to the sport. Much of their efforts have been at their own cost and we understand how disappointed the athletes must be,” wrote Badminton New Zealand Chief Executive Nicki Martin in a statement on the topic.

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In Part II, the Uber Cup preview, Aaron Wong reveals the lessons learnt from Korea’s historic maiden victory at the last edition.

By Aaron Wong, Badzine Correspondent.  Photos: Badmintonphoto

“I’m a lot sharper than I used to be.”

“I’ve done this before.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve done this.”  (“Remind me: how did I do it, again?”)

“I CAN do this.”

Not only is that what’s going through my head, staring at the flashing cursor and blank screen, about to research and write about this particular tournament – something I haven’t done for two years and a job to complete ahead – but similar thoughts would also be crossing the minds of seven ladies out of the ten-strong Korean team as they return as key players and third seeds to defend the Uber Cup.

For these elite athletes, their team competition “muscles” are about to be tested again.  As all athletes know, muscles need regular exercising; and warmed up muscles, whether physical or psychological, work better than cold ones.

The Uber Paradox

China is once again the women’s top seed but Korea is defending their maiden World Women’s Team Championship title.  Korea winning, at the time and in hindsight still, was a stunning demonstration of a team rising to the occasion and becoming greater than the sum of their parts.

The paradox of women’s badminton is that on one hand, China’s ladies present the most fortified force in world badminton, unbelievably more so than their own men’s side, owing to their frequent domination with the top four singles players and at least the top two doubles pairs in the world.  Yet, crucially, the slower pace of the women’s game, particularly in singles, means that an alternative to a Chinese ending to competitions is somehow plausible.  How else do you quickly explain Korea’s 2010 Uber Cup victory?

Four: Drawing first blood

It wasn’t a stylish match to watch as the underdog was clearly playing with the singular plan of having no intention of losing: 

Korea’s Bae Seung Hee went out of the gates first and withstood the heat to frustrate and outlast Wang Yihan in their fateful first singles Uber Cup final on May 15^th, 2010 – someone outside the top ten had found a way to beat the world number one.  Significantly, non-Chinese ladies all over were inspired and have since gained a lot confidence by repeating the feat.

Each of the five best-of-three matches in a team encounter is worth 1 point, but it does not necessarily mean they are all of the same value.  Drawing first blood instils vital confidence in one’s team like nothing else can; and the reverse situation and subtraction of confidence is also true, particularly for the underdog team.

The lasting legacy of Korea’s Uber victory has been that we now take for granted that China’s three Wangs are beatable and it’s no longer a huge surprise when it does happen at the racquets of Germany’s Juliane Schenk, Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon, or Taiwan’s Tai Tzu Ying or even Dutch veteran Yao Jie (aged 34 when she beat Wang Yihan last year), to name just a few.

Five: Live for today

One of the reasons the Korean victory came as a surprise is that, days earlier, they struggled to suffocate their Russian opponents.  Bae Seung Hee needed three games to carve out a win over Ella Diehl as did first doubles Lee Hyo Jung / Kim Min Jung, who barely survived the meeting against Sorokina/Vislova 21-23, 21-9, 24-22.

Live for today is the lesson here.  Take each encounter as it comes.  Don’t count your chickens before they hatch, that sort of adage.  It was the right conditioning for the Koreans as wishing to win the Uber Cup from the outset of the week would have distracted their focus which they needed all of it, because of their dual scratching pairings.

Back to the 2012 edition, Uber Cup’s Group B match-up of Taiwan and Thailand can go either way.  Although seeded one rung above, the Taiwanese women are the underdogs without their top singles player, World Championship silver medallist Cheng Shao Chieh, and are instead depending on a teenager to helm the first spot.

Still, it is perhaps possible for Taiwan to win by following the Korean example of splitting their top doubles pair Cheng Wen Hsing / Chien Yu Chin.  Without splitting, the feisty and veteran Thai women’s doubles know that the second Taiwanese doubles will need to summon something special within themselves (above their usual best) on the day in order to triumph.

Six:  Not excluding experience

In Badzine’s last Uber Cup preview, I made a hasty sweeping statement that China leaving off the list their up till then most experienced women’s doubles proponent, Zhang Yawen, wouldn’t make a difference, what with all the other former world number ones already crowding around.

Inadvertently, I reflected the thoughts of the Chinese team management.  No one can say that Zhang’s inclusion would have changed the outcome, but more to the point, her exclusion simply represents overlooking the factors of Experience and Maturity and planning based solely on technical prowess alone.

China’s 2010 women’s side was made up entirely of Uber Cup debutantes apart from Jiang Yanjiao, who only played one match and against a junior Malaysian.  Whereas Korea made the gutsy decision to separate both the very experienced Lee Kyung Won / Lee Hyo Jung partnership as well as the highly ranked but underperforming Ha Jung Eun / Kim Min Jung in a gamble which no one could possibly have known would pay off as the tournament match point was 20-19 in the second doubles third game facing the Beijing Olympic Champions Du/Yu.

This time around, every one of China’s team has been to the Uber Cup before, though Li Xuerui, Cheng Shu, and Zhao Yunlei will be playing in their first Finals, after participating in China’s anomalous Asian preliminary round campaign earlier this year.  Pan Pan’s inclusion over former world number one Ma Jin might seem puzzling but not after considering it is an Olympic year and the latter is a gold medal chance so it is prudent not to risk injury to both of China’s mixed doubles stars (the other is Zhao Yunlei who is fielded for second doubles duty).

Ticking all the boxes

Indonesia’s women suffer the same fate as their men by being drawn in Group A to play China, and lacking any star singles players in their ranks makes the mountain treacherous to climb.

Whether Korea will again create scratch pairings from both their top ten pairs Ha/Kim and Jung/Kim remains to be seen but it is unlikely as neither lady in the former pair has an overtly alpha quality about her, unlike each of Lee Kyung Won and Lee Hyo Jung before them.

Should the defending champions Korea meet China again on the last day of the Uber Cup for a revenge match that everyone desires to see, they can already tick off three of the boxes of including experienced players leading their team that far.

Although Korea is noticeably weaker this year without their two retired Lees, things are a little brighter for them in another sense.  While in 2010, neither Kim Min Jung nor Ha Jung Eun had ever beaten a Chinese pair, they have since erased that black mark on their record both individually and as a pair, in particular with their victory over the World Champions Wang/Yu at the Korea Open.  Also, in 2010, Bae Youn Joo and Bae Seung Hee had scored a combined 3 isolated victories over top Chinese players and Sung Ji Hyun had none.  Now, both Sung and Bae have the experience of beating all four Wangs and are winless only against Li Xuerui, who can only play third singles.

2012: Ticking the 4th box

What remains to be done is for Sung Ji Hyun to draw first blood against Wang Yihan.   Beyond that, Korea may be needing second doubles Kim Ha Na / Jung Kyung Eun to keep the unforced error rate low and be wary of their opponents’ strategy to capitalise at the net in order to close the deal against world number two Zhao Yunlei / Tian Qing — there’s a first time for everything and the young Koreans have only been improving and bridging more and more of the moat against this Chinese pair, forcing it into the deciding game in the latest of their three encounters.

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The 2^nd biggest domestic tournament in Japan was held in Saitama from May 12^th until May 16^th. The 32 best players in Japan were invited to participate, including some national team players.   It was also a great opportunity for back-up players to shine…with some surprises.

Story and photos by Miyuki Komiya, live in Saitama

In the men’s singles, former national team player Jun Takemura (photo) beat current national team player Kazushi Yamada in the semi-final. In the final, this veteran played against former national Kazuteru Kozai and beat him 21-9, 18-21, 21-15.

“I’m really happy to win this tournament. I could control shuttles as I hoped to during this tournament. All players are younger and move faster than me so I tried to keep my concentration from the beginning of 1^st game unil the end and I was able to manage a good performance here!” said the champion to Badzine.

Takemura is a very popular player in Japan. He usually works for his railway company from 9 to 5:30, and then, trains at badminton from 6:30 to 10:00PM, 5 days a week. He proved that any players have the chance to win if they do their best.

Men’s doubles:

Back-up players Takeshi Kamura / Keigo Sonoda (photo) beat current national team players Kenta Kazuno / Yoshiteru Hirobe 21-19, 21-13 in the final of the event.

“They had good start and lead, but we were able to catch them and get the 1^st game. It made the 2^nd game easy to get,” said Takeshi.

“We beat them once in the Osaka International last month. I am happy to prove the win wasn’t a fluke,” added Keigo.

Keigo was selected for the national team as a singles player but he moved to doubles and was paired with Takeshi when he joined his company team Tonami. They won last fall’s Malaysia International then the Osaka International, and this #2 domestic tournament in 2012. They are among the closest pairs to the level of those on the national team.

Result HERE

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All England champion Jung Jae Sung is not on the list of players that the Badminton Korea Association announced today for its Thomas Cup contingent.  Both the Thomas and Uber Cup teams are one name short of the ten given to the Badminton World Federation, which published team rosters earlier this week.

The Uber Cup team is without a fourth singles player, leaving 27-year-old Hwang Hye Youn the responsibility of batting cleanup in every tie that stretches to a third singles match.  However, the Thomas Cup team will be without the star doubles combination of Lee Yong Dae and Jung Jae Sung for a second straight edition.   In the spring of 2010, Lee Yong Dae was undergoing treatment on his elbow, leaving Jung Jae Sung floundering twice against the world #1 Cai/Fu in a scratch partnership with Shin Baek Cheol.

According to Korean National Team Head Coach Sung Han Kook, Jung had earlier been suffering from a lower back injury.  The plan is to have Jung continue training but to play it safe by allowing him to sit out the Thomas Cup Finals.  The Korean coaching staff now have a variety of options for how to make use of marquee player Lee Yong Dae.  Sung says that these decisions will be made as the tournament progresses.

Lee did play three tournaments last year with Ko Sung Hyun.  The two won titles at the U.S. and Canada Opens but fell to Kido/Setiawan in the Japan Open quarter-finals.  He also played a few matches at a domestic tournament this spring, partnering Samsung team-mate Kim Sa Rang, who was since crowned Asian Champion with Kim Ki Jung, both of whom are also on the Korean Thomas Cup squad.

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In terms of pure badminton and tradition, the finals of the Thomas and Uber Cups (TUC) set to unfold from this weekend at the inland Chinese city of Wuhan are the biggest events of the year in the sport.

In Part I, our preview specialist Aaron Wong evaluates how possible is it this year to turn the tables on China for the men as happened to their women’s side in the previous edition.  He also pinpoints major aspects of team competition that have led to success.

By Aaron Wong, Badzine Correspondent.  Photos: Badmintonphoto

Most of the world’s top badminton players will be attending these World Team Championships (a.k.a. Thomas and Uber Cups) which happen every two years.  Some of those notable by their absence include those ousted at the regional stage like the Taiwan men’s who, some may be surprised to discover, have yet to make it beyond that barrier.  It is only a matter of time before do, given their nascent talents; however, their rise in broad strength across the disciplines has been a relatively recent phenomenon.

One: Broad strength

So far, Denmark have been runners-up eight times and Korea once in the Thomas Cup.  Both these great men’s badminton nations have produced world number ones, if not legends, in singles, doubles, as well as mixed, but have yet to capture this prestigious title.

This year Korea are seeded second through their dual top-five ranked strength in doubles and seeded third are Denmark with a stronger singles side on paper.  China is the top seed and defending champions with four consecutive titles.  They presently have three singles players ranked in the top four and two doubles pairs in the top five.  (In fact, altogether the hosts are fielding four top-ten singles players and three top ten pairs).

For any country to ultimately win, firstly, broad strength in the team is a must.   A very simplistic explanation is that neither Denmark or Korea have possessed sufficient top singles specialists at any one time to beat their opponents on the last day.

Thomas’s Paper Trades

Korea’s men’s side has a feasible chance at becoming victors compared to last time in Kuala Lumpur when doubles super star Lee Yong Dae (pictured above) was absent.  Their twin doubles arguably have the narrowest edge over the Chinese line-up, and Shon Wan Ho’s India Open Super Series singles glory theoretically indicates he is up to the task of second singles against Chen Long or Chen Jin.

Jan O. Jorgensen (pictured left), who has shed the up-and-coming tag, is considered on par with Shon so he will be counted on to secure a point in the first or second singles for Denmark.  Either of these bridesmaid nations can viably secure 3 out of the 5 matches through one singles and both doubles this time against, in all probability, China, and make history.  Certainly, China would be aware and prepared.

Two: The dangerous scratch pair

All the early attention is on Thomas Cup Group C, where Denmark have drawn Malaysia.  So much rests on the outcome of the first men’s doubles of Boe/Mogensen versus Koo/Tan, which for both countries are the cornerstones of their assault campaign.  The Malaysians did not beat the Danish the twice they met in 2011 so if it comes down to it, the second doubles could be even more interesting to watch.

When used judiciously rather than having no choice but to, a dangerous scratch pairing is a formidable weapon and genuine tactic.  For instance, in 2010, Indonesia employed mixed specialist Nova Widianto together with former world number one Alvent Yulianto to down Japan’s Hirata/Endo.  Denmark are quite prepared to go down this path by naming the dynamic mixed doubles world number three Joachim Fischer-Nielsen (pictured above with Mathias Boe) in their squad and Malaysia’s scratch partner jewel is the ever reliable Hoon Tien How.

Three:  Exercising different muscles

In Group A, Indonesia have drawn China.  Simon Santoso has never scalped Lin Dan, whom he is likely to have to play in first singles.  Although Santoso has been on the circuit many years and is undoubtedly deeply talented, composed and adaptable, nevertheless, playing the opening rubber in a team event requires rarely used sense of occasion “muscles” that need to be exercised.

The same basically goes for Tommy Sugiarto (pictured), there is a lot more benefit than meets the eye in playing such team fixtures, and every great athlete needs to acquire such experiences.  Lin Dan, during his early career, also became undone in new or big occasions.  Experiences aren’t something one is born with.  China’s first women’s singles representative, Wang Yihan, possesses it this time but lacked it last time even though she was also world number one then.

—– In the upcoming Part II, Aaron Wong reveals the lessons learnt from Korea’s historic achievement at the last edition of the Uber Cup.—–

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According to Badzine.de, our local channel in Germany as well as local news agencies, Germany will be playing without three of their top stars in the upcoming Uber Cup. Juliane Schenk will stay home to prepare for London Olympics while her compatriots Olga Konon and Birgit Michels are injured and will not travel to Wuhan for the biennial competition. This means that the European Champions – Germany beat Denmark this spring for the first time in the history of the event (called Uber Cup Continental stage in the past) – will have very little chance to have an impact on the competition and that European’s best chances will now rely on Denmark and the Netherlands.

Germany will be going with the following players:

Karin Schnaase, Carola Bott, Fabienne Deprez, Sandra Marinello, Carla Nelte, Johanna Goliszewski, Isabel Herttrich

For the rest of the Thomas and Uber Cup rosters, published previously on Badzine, CLICK HERE

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The teams of Berlin (EBT) and Issy Les Moulineaux (IMBC) scooped the National Interclub league titles on Sunday after a win in the play-off stage in Germany and France respectively. In Bonn, Germany, Berlin beat BC Bischmisheim 4/2 thanks to it’s worldwide squad including Wong Choong Hann, Kenneth Jonassen, Robert Blair and Lotte Jonathans, and local girl Juliane Schenk.

In Rochefort, France, Issy Les Moulineaux scooped their 13th national title against the new comer in the French Elite Division – Chambly Badminton Club Oise (featuring Bulgaria’s Linda Zetchiri and Weny Rasidi), a club which was in France’s 4th division only 3 years ago. Issy was led 2/4 in the final before team mates of Laurent Constantin and Inoki Theopilus amongst others caught back to 4/4 before the decider “Golden Mixed”, where once again the Parisians were able to edge their same opponents again for a final 5/4 success from Issy

France’s Play Off results HERE

Germany’s Play Off results HERE

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Left to right: Li Xuerui, Wang Yihan, Wang Xin, Wang Shixian © Badmintonphoto

This month 172 players who have qualified for this summer’s Olympic badminton competition according to BWF rules will have their spots accepted or rejected by their national Olympic committees. While many teams have choices such as picking one qualifier from the top 89, two from the top 16, or two pairs from the top 8, none will be as close a call as China’s in the women’s singles event.

Not only is world #4 Li Xuerui on a four-tournament winning streak, but the Chinese coaches have a history of placing confidence in shuttlers who show promise and a winning attitude, sometimes selecting them over higher-ranked team-mates. Obviously, these are natural decisions for any coach but only the Chinese have to make these decisions so frequently, choosing among such highly-ranked, and highly-talented, athletes.

The recently-named Chinese Uber Cup team has all of the world’s top four, of course, but for the London Olympics, three must be chosen. The only quandary that comes close would be Japan having to select two women’s doubles pairs from among the world’s #3, #6, and #7. Unlike with Japan, however, China is selecting amonst four players with no Olympic experience. Only one has yet to reach world #1, only one has any likelihood of retiring before the next Olympics, and – surprisingly – only one has won a World Championship title.

Shown below is a brief run-down of China’s four top stars. After you vote, please let us know your thoughts in our comments section.

Wang Yihan (24): The current world #1, she is also the reigning World Champion. Last year, she won the Supereries Finals and she has won the All England and 12 other Superseries titles. She has only one title from three finals appearances so far this year.

Wang Xin (26): Currently world #2, Wang Xin was the silver medallist at the Asian Games and World Championships in 2010 and she has won a total of seven Superseries titles, including a run of three this past autumn. Since that 2011 Hong Kong Open win, however, she has not won a title and has reached only one final this year.

Wang Shixian (22): The current world #3 won the Asian Games gold in 2010 and the Superseries Finals for the same year. She has won seven Superseries titles but only one this year and she has reached one other final in 2012.

Li Xuerui (21): A relative newcomer to the top echelon, Li Xuerui won her first international tournament, the Badminton Asia Championships, in 2010 and since then six more Grand Prix Gold-level events. Her first Superseries title was at this year’s All England, which she followed up with a second, the India Open, both part of a five-title run. Her current ranking of world #4 is her career best so far.

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Andrew Smith and Nicole Schaller were the men’s singles and women’s singles winners of the Forza Slovenian International on Sunday, while Croatia’s pair scooped two titles

Here are the full results

MS: Andrew Smith (ENG) b. Mohit Kamat (IND): 21-18 21-17
WS:Nicole Schaller (SWI) b. Carola Bott (GER): 21-19 21-14
MD: Durkinjak/Hoelbling (CRO) b. Heinz/Jansen (GER): 17-21 21-17 21-12
WD: Herttrich / Wienefeld (GER)    b. Thomas/ Turner (WAL): 21-14 13-21 21-17
XD: Durkinjak/ Poznanovic (CRO) b.Kaesbauer/ Kattenbeck : 21-9 21-13

Official Results HERE

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