COPENHAGEN: An Indonesian badminton official was left in awe after watching China’s shuttlers train at the Bellarup Super Arena on Sunday.
All-Indonesia Badminton Association (PBSI) official Bambang Roedyanto was full of admiration for the commitment shown during training.
“Just look at them. They are so disciplined. Their commitment during training is amazing. They know where exactly to hit the shuttle to assess the condition of the hall. Even the coaches are so focused during practice,” said Bambang.
Bambang agreed that China would be out to bounce back after their humiliating 3-0 defeat to Japan in the semi-finals of the Thomas Cup Finals in May.
In fact, they have been rather quiet by not sending many of their players for tournaments in the last two months.
“They will be out to redeem themselves here and at next month’s Asian Games. But I don’t think they will be able to make a clean sweep this time.”
Since the tournament’s inception in 1977, China have won all five titles in three occasions – in Beijing (1987), Paris (2010) and Wembley (2011).
“They will be unbeatable in the women’s singles. I do not see any other players including defending champion Ratchanok Intanon (of Thailand) challenging them,” said Bambang.
China will be banking on top seed Li Xuerui, Wang Yihan, Wang Shixian and Han Li to wrest the title.
“It will be 50-50 in the women’s doubles. The Koreans are favourites in the men’s doubles.
“China may have the top and second seeds in the mixed doubles (Zhang Nan-Zhao Yunlei and Xu Chen-Ma Jin) but Denmark’s top pair (Joachim Fischer Nielsen-Christinna Pedersen) are the favourites.
“In the men’s singles, even Chen Long cannot stop Lee Chong Wei from winning this year. Unlike Lin Dan, Chen Long is predictable,” added Bambang.
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