In the highly competitive men’s doubles discipline, the ROK’s Ko Sung Hyun and Lee Yong Dae have not just been able to reach the top spot, they have also opened a massive 10,000 gap between them and second placed Koo Kien Keat/Tan Boon Heong of Malaysia. Looking back on their success since the start of 2013, it is clear their formidable reputation is well-deserved. 

 

Leaving tournaments under BWF Level 3 (introduction of BWF tournament classification,) in the first half of 2013, Ko/Lee took one Super Series Premier title, the  Badminton Asia Championship and four runners-up spots in Super Series tournaments, an impressive haul indeed. In the two international tournaments in June alone, the Indonesia Open 2013 and Singapore Open 2013, they claimed two second places. Their high level of skill and steady performance drawing on rich competition experience has made them frequent winners and given them a very big lead at the top of the world rankings.  

 

In the final of the men’s doubles at the Indonesia Open, the ROK’s Ko/Lee faced fancied local pair Ahsan/Setiawan. Roared on by the home crowd, the local boys showed they were determined to take the title, playing aggressively and leaving few openings for the ROK pair, who in the end couldn’t resist the onslaught and went down 14-21,18-21 to take second place.

 

Event		WINNER	Score	RUNNER-UP	Video
WD		Yixin BAO [8]  Shu CHENG	15-21、21-18、21-18	Xiaoli WANG [1]  Yang (F) YU
MS		Chong Wei LEE [1]	21-15、21-14	Marc ZWIEBLER
WS		Xuerui LI [1]	21-16、18-21、21-17	Juliane SCHENK [4]
MD		Mohammad AHSAN  Hendra SETIAWAN	21-14、21-18	Sung Hyun KO [2]  Yong Dae LEE
XD		Nan ZHANG [3] Yunlei ZHAO	24-22、20-22、21-12	FISCHER NIELSEN [4]  PEDERSEN

 

In other disciplines, Datuk Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, dealt with Germany’s Zwiebler in straight games to take the men’s title with little difficulty. In the women’s singles final, after a hard-fought three game match, Li Xue Rui was able to beat Germany’s Schenk, who will retire at the end of the year, by a narrow margin. In the women’s doubles, China’s Cheng Shu/Bao Yi Xin beat teammates Yu Yang/Wang Xiao Li, who many fancied to take the title, to take their first Premier series title. China’s Zhang Nan/Zhao Yun Lei took the mixed doubles title.

 

In the final of the mixed doubles, Indonesia’s “Lighting pair” Tontowi/Liliyana showed excellent mutual understanding and great vigor as they met the challenge of  the ROK’s Yoo Yeon Seong/Eom Hye Won; leaving their opponents with no answer to the onslaught they faced, Tontowi/Liliyana  took an easy victory in just 35 minutes, taking their second Super Series title this year after their All-England title win in March.   

 

In other disciplines, the ROK’s Ko Sung Hyun/Lee Yong Dae again fell at the hands of Indonesia’s Ahsan/Setiawan in the final but still took their fourth Super Series runners-up spot of the year. In the men’s singles, after an epic 69 minute battle, Indonesia’s Tommy Sugiarto overcame Thailand’s Ponsana by a narrow margin to take the title. In the women’s singles final, Wang Yi Han of China beat compatriot Li Xue Rui;in the women’s doubles, Tian Qing/Zhao Lei, who haven’t played as a doubles pair for a long while, beat Japanese opponents to take the title. 

 

Chinese Taipei’s prodigy Tai Tzu Ying continued her steady march up the women’s singles world rankings and is now in eighth spot. Tai made it to the quarter-finals at almost all the Super Series and Grand Prix Gold tournaments in 2013 and took the title at the Malaysia Open, showing that she is a force to be reckoned with and there is still more to come. Give a little more time, it can be expected that she will break the record for the highest ranking ever held by a Chinese Taipei  player in the women’s singles (Cheng Shao Chieh once reached seventh) and then go on to break her own record and march inexorably towards the world No. 1 spot!