Mixed And Doubles Fields Stacked with Medalists

Mixed And Doubles Fields Stacked with Olympic, Commonwealth And World Championship Medalists

As with the singles competitions, the quality on display in the doubles and mixed doubles will be world class at the SKYCITY New Zealand Badminton Open at Auckland’s North Shore Events Centre next week (April 28 – May 3).

Event Director and former New Zealand champion and winner of the Women’s Singles at the 1992 NZ Open Julie Carrel (nee Still) is simply stunned at the quality of badminton that will be on display.

“Honestly I almost don’t know where to look, there is going to be something great every day of this tournament with some amazing early matches in the draw throughout the doubles and mixed competitions. I shudder to think of the level we will be at come finals time on the weekend, this is going to thrill spectators from start to finish and is thanks to the support of SKYCITY and our upgrade to Grand Prix Gold status without question the highest quality tournament we have seen here in New Zealand.”

The Mixed Doubles is a fascinating prospect and features the current World Junior Mixed champions, albeit interestingly Qingchen Chen and Kaixiang Huang (both China) will not play together, rather they arrive with new partners as they embark on their careers in the senior ranks at a Gold Grand Prix Tournament.

And while both are seeded (5 and 6 respectively), the strength of the draw is highlighted by the presence of current world number 9 pairing in Riky Widanto and Puspita Richi Dili (Indonesia) and current world number 15 pairing Danny Chrisnanta and Yu Yan Neo (Singapore) – who have been as high as 9 in the world and won silver at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

Add to that the presence of two other former top 10 ranked pairings in Peng Soon Chan/Liu Ying Goh (Malaysia – twice gold medalists in team competition at Commonwealth Games) and brother and sister combination Markis Kidos and Pia Bernadeth (Indonesia) and you can throw a blanket over the 8 seeds to find a prospective winner.

The Men’s Doubles is similarly stacked with quality with the field including no less than 9 players who boast a top 20 ranking on their CV’s in recent years, along with world championship titles, Olympic medals and Commonwealth Games medals.

Leading the way is doubles royalty in the form of Markis Kiddo (Indonesia). The 2008 Olympic gold medalist and 2007 World Champion (both with Hendra Setiawan) is playing with a new partner (Agripinna Putra) and given Putra has been as high as 25 in the world, you can expect this pairing to feature at the business end of the tournament as surely the most dangerous non-seeded pairing throughout the tournament. If both combinations get through their first round encounters, a match up with the fourth seeded Germans Raphael Beck and Andreas Heinz is one to look for in the early days of play.

Danny Chrisnanta goes one better than his second seeding in the Mixed to lead the way in the Men’s Doubles with partner Chayut Triyachart (Singapore). Currently ranked at 21 in the world, the Singapore pairing bring good form having won the 2014 Macau Open.

China are strong contenders too in the Men’s Doubles, with third seeds Liu Yuchen and Li Junhui certain to receive strong support from the local Chinese community. Their presence has created quite the stir amongst the knowledgeable Asian badminton and media community in New Zealand.

The other pairing of note amongst a high class field is the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games gold medal winning pair from Malaysia in Shem Goh and Wee Tan. Their current ranking of 44 belies the threat they bring to the tournament, having been as high as number 11 in the world in June 2013.

Look also for a one time bad-boy of the sport with the appearance of Bodin Issara (Thailand). The former world number 7 is returning to the sport after serving a two year suspension for an infamous fight at the 2013 Canadian Open that went viral around the world. Without a ranking as he returns to the sport, interestingly he partners one of the players in the opposition on the day of the fight, this time playing on the same side as Nipithphon Puangpuapech (Thailand).

The Women’s Doubles is the lighter of the three events, albeit it too boasts a former world number one in the field in the shape of Wen Hsing Cheng (Taipei). Cheng will partner Pei Ling Shuai (Taipei) and are again a dangerous non-seeded combination in the draw.

Heavy favourites though will be Pia Bernadeth and Rizki Pradipta (Indonesia). The former world number 6 pairing (March 2014) are ranked at 21 in the world coming into the tournament and will be hard to topple. Bernadeth can expect a busy schedule subject to how she and brother Markis Kiddo progress through the Mixed competition.

Mixed Doubles – Seeds (current world ranking follows names)
1. Riky WIDIANTO (INA) Puspita Richi DILI (INA), 8
2. Danny Bawa CHRISNANTA (SIN) Yu Yan Vanessa NEO (SIN), 17
3. Markis KIDO (INA) Pia Zebadiah BERNADETH (INA), 28
4. Ronald ALEXANDER (INA) Melati Daeva OKTAVIANI (INA), 30
5. ZHENG Si Wei (CHN) CHEN Qingchen (CHN), 59
6. HUANG Kaixiang (CHN) ZHONG Qianxin (CHN), no ranking
7. Fran KURNIAWAN (INA) Komala DEWI (INA), 65
8. Chayut TRIYACHART (SIN) Shinta Mulia SARI (SIN), 66

Men’s Doubles - Seeds
1. Danny Bawa CHRISNANTA (SIN) Chayut TRIYACHART (SIN), 21
2. Hendra Aprida GUNAWAN (INA) Andrei ADISTIA (INA), 24
3. YUCHEN Liu (CHN) JUNHUI Li (CHN), 27
4. Raphael BECK (GER) Andreas HEINZ (GER), 29
5. V Shem GOH (MAS) Wee Kiong TAN (MAS), 44
6. Khim Wah LIM (MAS) Thien How HOON (MAS), no ranking
7. Fajar ALFIAN (INA) Muhammad Rian ARDIANTO (INA), 75
8. Ryan Agung SAPUTRA (INA) Berry ANGRIAWAN (INA), 110

Women’s Doubles – Seeds
• Pia Zebadiah BERNADETH (INA) Rizki Amelia PRADIPTA (INA), 21
• Ozge BAYRAK (TUR) Neslihan YIGIT (TUR), 35
• Yuki FUKUSHIMA (JPN) Sayaka HIROTA (JPN), 48
• Huan XIA (CHN) ZHONG Qianxin (CHN), 50

Tournament facts and stats:
256 players - 30 currently ranked inside the top 50 in the world - former Olympic and World Championship medalists - current and former world junior champions - 22 countries represented - 54 players Indonesia - 27 Malaysia - 19 China - 13 Japan - 120 volunteers - US$120,000 prize money (richest tournament ever in NZ) - Grand Prix Gold status - Broadcast to over 50 countries - Estimated viewing audience of 220 million plus

SKYCITY NZ Open
Date: April 28 to May 3
Prize money: USD$120,000
Venue: North Shore Events Centre
TV broadcast: Sky Sport NZ and globally through IMG to over 50 countries and an estimated viewing audience of 220 million
Sponsors: SKYCITY, One Pure – official water supplier, X-TRM – official equipment and apparel supplier, ATEED
Website: www.nzbadmintonopen.com

ENDS

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