After the addition of points won at the All-England 2013, the top ranked players in the BWF World Rankings released on March 14 were: Men’s Singles-Lee Chong Wei; Women’s Singles-Li Xue Rui; Men’s Doubles-Boe/ Mogensen; Women’s Doubles-Yu Yang/ Wang Xiao Li; Mixed Doubles-Xu Chen/ Ma Jin  

 

Lee Yong Dae

 

Many up-and-coming players and new partnerships tried their best to win some points in the two recent tournaments－ the German Open and the All-England, because a big points haul would allow them to leap up the BWF Rankings .

 

At the German Open 2103, China’s Liu Xiao Long/ Qiu Zi Han beat hot favorites to take the title, South Korea’s Lee Yong Dae/ Ko Sung Hyun, in the semi-finals, allowing China to book the men’s doubles first and second placed berths in advance and leading many onlookers to think that China was heading for a four-title haul. However, the South Korean team, renowned for its doubles play, showed their thirst and determination for victory; Not only did women’s doubles pair Jung Kyung Eun/ Kim Ha Na come from behind to take out Ma Jin/ Tang Jin Hua, Shin Baek Choel/ Jang Ye Na,actually playing in a tournament for the first time as a pair, were also able to win the mixed doubles title, once again showing badminton super power China that South Korea is their biggest at present.      

 

	WINNER	Score	RUNNER-UP
MD	Chai Biao [6] Hong Wei	21-10 , 21-14	Liu Xiao Long Qiu Zi Han [7]
MS	Chen Long [1]	21-17, 21-11	Tommy Sugiarto[8]
WD	KIM Ha Na [3] JUNG Kyung Eun	11-21, 21-14, 21-13	Ma Jin [5] Tang Jin Hua
WS	Wang Yi Han [2]	21-14, 21-13	Schenk [3]
XD	Shin Baek Choel Jang Ye Na	21-19, 19-21, 24-22	Kristiansen Houmann

 

Soon after the start of the All-England Open Badminton Championships 2013, the phenomenon of “killing seeds” appeared, leaving many fans in disbelief. Olympic women’s singles gold medal winner in London Li Xue Rui and  fancied doubles pairs Lee Yong Dae/ Ko Sung Hyun, Boe/ Mogensen, Cai Yu/ Fu Hai Feng and Koo Kien Keat/ Tan Boon Heong all crashed out in the third or second round.

The queen of German badminton, Tine Baun, had announced that she would retire as a player after the All-England so her fans were all hoping for a victory in her last tournament. Baun didn’t let them down as she beat op younger players including S. Korea’s Sung Ji Hyun and Thailand’s Inthanon Ratchanok on her way to the title, bringing her career to a perfect end.

 

Another focus of attention at the All-England was Indonesia’s mixed doubles pair Ahmad/ Natsir, currently ranked second in the world. This was their first tournament since changing sponsor and many fans were worried that using new rackets and shoes would affect their performance. However, there was no need for concern as they put in a brilliant performance and successfully defended their All-England title, in the process giving a big thumbs-up to VICTOR’s premium rackets and shoes. 

 

	WINNER	Score	RUNNER-UP
WD	Yu Yang [1] Wang Xiao Li	21-18 , 21-10	Cheng Shu Zhao Yun Lei
MD	Liu Xiao Long Qiu Zi Han	21-11 , 21-9	Endo Hayakawa [4]
WS	Tine Baun [7]	21-14 , 16-21 , 21-10	Inthanon Ratchanok [8]
MS	Chen Long [2]	21-17 , 21-18	Lee Chong Wei [1]
XD	Ahmad [2] Natsir	21-13 , 21-17	Zhang Nan [5] Zhao Yun Lei