The first 3 tournaments of the year flew by, and it offered a glimpse into how badminton will shape up in the coming year. I will touch of all disciplines, but the main focus will be on men’s singles. Let’s discuss.

First and foremost, Happy Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year) to all who celebrate it. We had a nice break, visiting family in my hometown of Ipoh. A break of 5 days without badminton is allowing my aging body to recover. It also gives me an opportunity to rewatch badminton matches and reflect on the matches. And the Malaysia Open and the Indonesia Masters offered a lot of insights into how things will pan out.

In men’s singles, it appears that a new batch of 4 players is set to dominate the scenes: Shi Yuqi, Vitidsarn, Jonathan Christie and Ander Antonsen. The are the new batch who are set to take the place of the original four from the 2000s: Lin Dan, Lee Chong Wei, Taufik Hidayat and Peter Gade. The main rivalry in this batch of 4 is likely going to be between Shi Yuqi and Vitidsarn. Why so?

Shi Yuqi is the most complete player in the current batch. He has the technical ability to execute any of the moves taught by Han Jian. Vitidsarn is a close second as he has tremendous technical ability as well, coming in very close to Shi Yuqi. Christie plays with the Indonesian technique, and I have discussed in great detail about this technique here on the website and blog. Antonsen plays with the Danish technique, and his technical abilities are similar to the Indonesian technique.

Physical ability and form are perhaps the biggest differentiator between these 4 players right now. Shi Yuqi is known to have some health failings where he gets ill quite often. Vitidsarn has concerns with his fitness, but he has been improving a lot on this aspect. Christie is a beast when it comes to physical fitness and he is the strongest one of the 4 in this aspect. Look at the build on that man! He is like a weightlifter, or more specifically a triathlete. Then there is Antonsen who is built more like a long distance runner, and has some endurance concerns.

When everyone is at their best, Shi Yuqi is the man to beat. But if he is not at his best, anyone of the other 3 could beat him on their day. And this is the dynamics which will be playing out for the rest of the year, in my opinion. And if each one of them can stay fit and healthy, we are going to be in for a treat, perhaps even along the lines of the great rivalries of Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei, with Taufik Hidayat and Peter Gade adding in more spice into things.

The main rivalry I see would be Shi Yuqi against Vitidsarn, with Christie and Antonsen adding the spice. But, that does not mean Shi Yuqi is going to win it all. The matches are for him to lose. If he is not well prepared, then he will lose to any one of these challengers.

Let’s move to the other disciplines now. For women’s singles, it still looks like An Se Young is set to continue her dominance. Wang Zhi Yi has developed a lot as a player, but she struggles physically to maintain the game which can beat An Se Young. We will see how Chen Yu Fei is and what her physical condition is in when she comes back to competiting. Miyazaki still has a ways to go before she can stand amongst the best. It will take her a year or two before she can do it, similar to An Se Young when she first emerged as an 16 year old. Akane Yamaguchi’s struggles with injuries looks like it will continue for the first half of the year unfortunately.

In women’s doubles, the splitting of the Japanese, Korean and Chinese pairs have created headaches for their competitors and commentators alike. It is hard to see who will dominate with the new pairings. Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian as really caught the eye, but Zhang Shu Xian needs to figure out how to play with a left handed partner, and fast. Lu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning are poised to dominate, given their recent emergence. I am unable to figure out how the Koreans will fare. I liked the Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee combination a lot, but I see them being split, and that decision puzzles me. The other pair I like a lot are Kim and Kong. Kim So Yong and Kong Hee Yong, not the curren Kim and Kong pairing.

The most promising new pairing in my opinion are Japanese: Ayako Sakuramoto and Arisa Higashino (Igarashi). Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto are making all the waves with their Malaysia Open triumph, but I feel that in terms of complementing skills and ways of playing Sakuramoto and the Smash Angel Higashino (Igarasgi… I got to get used to her changing her surname after her wedding!!) complement each other well. Their combined play is much more powerful than their individual skills, and it is going to work very well. Sakuramoto is awesome at the rear court, and her left handed attacks causes huge problems for the opponents. Higashino’s experience in mixed doubles and her agility and power will dominate the front court. She is very awesome at the back of the court too, with her smashes being effective enough to force opponents into giving Yuta Watanabe easy interceptions in the mixed doubles. These 2 are the pair to look out for.

For mixed doubles, the mercurial Huang Dong Ping is going through some tough times, and it the relatively newer pair of Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin looking to fill in where Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong left a void with their retirement. The Malaysian pair of Chen Tang Jie and Teoh Ee Wei should complete the top 3 who will be dominating the scenes this year.

In men’s doubles, Goh Sze Fei and Izzudin are shoo ins for the number 1 spot. Their consistency and flair have been eye catching, and it is a matter of time before the get the top spot. The Danes are not to be written off, but age is a concern for Anders Rasmussen. How long more can he keep up the punishing tours and still sit in the top 5? Kim Astrup is not young either at 34 going 35. It is rather strange to see Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang struggling so bad lately. It looks like a confidence issue for the both of them. Seo Seung Jae should be up there challenging the leaders, whoever he partners with. In my opinion, his best partner is still Kang Min Hyuk and it perplexes me to see the world number 2 pairing broken up like that.

That’s it folks. Those are whom I think will be most prominent and competiting for the most trophies for this year. But, this is afterall badminton. We will never know which new talent suddenly emerges and starts making waves. Last year we had Tomoka Miyazaki. Let’s see where an exciting new talent comes in this year.

That’s all for this entry.

Until the next update, eat well, get plenty of rest, and keep the badminton going!