Race to Finals hots up, WR points up for grabs

With two events to go, the race for the VICTOR BWF Super Series Finals 2010 is nearing its exciting conclusion.

And some of the biggest names in the sport will have to make up for some lost ground when they compete in the upcoming LI NING China Open (30 Nov – 5 Dec) and YONEX SUNRISE Hong Kong Open (7-12 Dec).

The VICTOR BWF Super Series Finals 2010 will be played at the Hsinchuang Gymnasium in Taipei, Chinese Taipei on 5-9 January 2011.

Players like three-time world champion Lin Dan, World No 1 Lee Chong Wei, reigning world champion Chen Jin and several other big names from Korea and Indonesia did not compete in the recent Denmark Open and YONEX French Open as they were preparing for the ongoing Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.

Though Chong Wei has qualified for the Finals, Chen Jin and Lin Dan have yet to qualify and are currently ranked No 11 and no 13 respectively in the Super Series Standings.

China’s highest ranked player in the men’s singles is Du Pengyu with former world junior champion Chen Long lying in eighth position.

As such, in order for Lin Dan to qualify automatically, he will have to at least finish higher than Chen Long.

The Finals is for the top eight highest ranked players/pairs based on the Super Series Standings but is limited to a maximum of two players/pairs per Member Association.

Any player/pair who declines the invitation to compete, the Badminton World Federation will invite the next highest ranked player/pair on the Super Series Standings.

In the women’s singles, China have four players – Wang Yihan, Wang Shixian, Wang Xin and Jiang Yanjiao - in the top eight but will only be eligible to enter two of its players which means the invitation will go on to the 9^th and 10^th placed players in the Super Series standings.

Once again US$500,000, the richest prize fund of the 2010 Series, is up for grabs, and forthe Finals in Chinese Taipei there is an added incentive to take part as for the first time World Ranking points are available to the competitors.

“The points level awarded will be equivalent to those awarded for BWF Premier Super Series tournaments,” said BWF Events Director Darren Parks.

“This means the players are guaranteed minimum quarter-finalists points as there are only eight competitors per event.”

The winner takes home 9700 points followed by 8250 points for the runner up while the losing semi-finalists will receive 6800 points respectively. Players/pairs who don’t qualify for the knock out stage (semi-finals) will collect 5350 points.

Super Series Standings (Top 10 after 10 of 12 events):

Men’s Singles: 1 Lee Chong Wei (MAS – 51040 points), 2 Peter Gade (DEN – 46320), 3 Boonsak Ponsana (THA – 41520), 4 Taufik Hidayat (INA – 37880), 5 Jan Jorgensen (DEN – 33920), 6 Nguyen Tien Minh (VIE – 33780), 7 Du Pengyu (CHN – 33120), 8 Chen Long (CHN – 32880), 9 Yun Hu (HKG – 32580), 10 Dicky Palyama (NED – 30540).

Women’s Singles: 1 Wang Yihan (CHN – 46240), 2 Tine Baun (DEN – 39260), 3 Wang Shixian (CHN – 37060), 4 Wang Xin (CHN – 36220), 5 Bae Youn Joo (KOR – 35880), 6 Yao Jie (NED – 32640), 7 Jiang Yanjiao (CHN – 32120), 8 Eriko Hirose (JPN – 31740), 9 Petya Nedelcheva (BUL – 31080), 10 Sung Ji Hyun (KOR) 30360).

Men’s Doubles: 1 Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen (DEN – 44920), 2 Ko Sung Hyun –Yoo Yeon Seong (KOR – 38720), 3 Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong (MAS – 35660), 4 Fang Chieh Min-Lee Sheng Mu (TPE – 33640), 5 Kim Ki Jung-Shin Baek Cheol (KOR – 33180), 6 Hirokatsu Hashimoto-Noriyasu Hirata (JPN – 33120), 7 Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan (INA – 32880), 8 Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng (CHN – 31240), 9 Alvent Yulianto-Hendra Gunawan (INA – 30360), 10 Cho Gun Woo-Kwon Yi Goo (KOR – 29460).

Women’s Doubles: 1 Petya Nedelcheva-Anastasia Russkikh (BUL/RUS – 43200), 2 Mizuki Fujii-Reika Kakiiwa (JPN – 38700), 3 Cheng Wen Hsing-Chien Yu Chin (TPE – 38520), 4 Miyuki Maeda-Satoko Suetsuna (JPN – 38480), 5 Duanganong Aroonkesorn-Kunchala Voravichitchaikul (THA – 31760), 6 Shu Cheng-Zhao Yunlei (CHN – 31220), 7 Shizuka Matsuo-Mami Naito (JPN – 28080), 8 Kim Min Jung-Lee Hyo Jung (KOR – 27080), 9 Meiliana Jauhari-Greysia Polii (INA – 25140), 10 Jenny Wallwork-Gabrielle White (ENG) 24660.

Mixed Doubles: 1 Thomas Laybourn-Kamilla Rytter Juhl (DEN – 57760), 2 Robert Mateusiak-Nadiezda Zieba (POL – 38780), 3 Sudket Prapakamol-Saralee Thuongthongkam (THA – 36560), 4 Hendra Gunawan-Vita Marissa (INA – 33000), 5 Nova Widianto-Liliyana Natsir (INA – 32880), 6 Nathan Robertson-Jenny Wallwork (ENG – 32340), 7 Songphon Anugritayawon-Kunchala Voravichitchaikul (THA – 30360), 8 Tao Jiaming-Zhang Yawen (CHN – 27080), 9 Ko Sung Hyun-Ha Jung Eun (KOR – 24540), 10 Chen Hung Ling-Cheng Wen Hsing (TPE – 23700).