The Denmark Open 2013 Super Series Premier will begin on October 15. Play has yet to begin but a topic that is being discussed avidly by fans is that world No. 1 men’s doubles pair Lee Yong Dae and Ko Sung Hyun are splitting up and will play with new partners, Ko with Shin Baek Choel and Lee with Yoo Yeon Seong.

 

Lee’s partner Yoo Yeon Seong is the current captain of the KOR national team. Ko and Shin play for the same team in the KOR and often practice and take part in domestic competitions together so they are already used to playing with each other.

 

Ko／Shin and Lee／Yoo are seeded seventh and eighth respectively at the Denmark Open and are widely regarded as having a good chance of doing well. If they make it to the last eight stage, Ko／Shin will play top seeds Ahsan／Setiawan and Lee／Yoo will play Malaysian pair Tan Boon Heong／ Koo Kien Keat

 

Lee is also playing in the mixed doubles, with Shin Seung Chan, but will have to come through the qualifying rounds to take part in the tournament proper.

 

“Indonesian Lightning” Natsir／ Ahmad are seeded third in the tournament in the mixed doubles. This is the first time they have taken part in a major international tournament since winning at the Badminton World Championships in August. It is expected that they will face the challenge of Shin Baek Choel／ Eom Hye Won in the first round.

 

Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu Ying will face Singapore’s Gu Juan, a player known for her stubborn resistance. If Tai makes it to the last eight she is likely to face Thailand’s young Intanon, a player who has been in great form this year. Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Cheng will face China’s Du Peng Yu, a player fresh from winning the men’s singles gold at the East Asian Games last week, so it’s fair  say that Chou has his work cut out if he is to go any further than the first round. 

 

Chinese Taipei’s main men’s doubles pairs Lee Sheng Mu／Tsai Chia Hsin and Chen Hung Lin／Lu Chia Pin took gold and silver respectively in the men’s doubles in the recently ended badminton event at the East Asian games in Tianjin, making this the only badminton discipline in which China was denied gold. The two pairs are now resting and have not travelled to Europe to play in Denmark.

 

Men’s singles:

Chou Tien Cheng (TPE) VS [3] (CHA) Du Peng Yu

 

Women’s singles:

Tai Tzu Ying [8] (TPE) VS (SIN) Gu Juan

Bae Youn Joo (KOR) VS (JPN) Minatsu Mitani

Sung Ji Hyun [6] (KOR) VS [qualifier]

 

Men’s doubles:

Ko Sung Hyun ／Shin Baek Choel [7] (KOR) VS (INA) Angga Pratama／Ryan Agung Saputra

Lee Yong Dae／Yoo Yeon Seong [8] (KOR) VS (DEN) Rasmus Bonde／Mads Conrad-Petersen

Kim Ki Jung／Kim Sa Rang [6] (KOR) VS (CHA) Fe Hai Feng／Hong Wei

 

Women’s doubles:

Shin Seung Chan ／ Eom Hye Wo (KOR) VS (DEN) Celine Juel ／ Josephine Van Zaane

Jang Ye Na／ Kim So Young (KOR) VS (Bulgaria) Gabriela Stoeva／ Stefani Stoeva

Jung Kyung Eun ／ Kim Ha Na [4] (KOR) VS (DEN) Maiken Fruergaard／Sara Thygesen

 

Mixed doubles:

Yoo Yeon Seong／Jang Ye Na (KOR) VS (JPN) Kenichi Hayakawa／Misaki Matsutomo

Ko Sung Hyun／Kim Ha Na [8] (KOR) VS (HKG) Nico Ruponen／Amanda Hogstrom

Shin Baek Choel／Eom Hye Won (KOR) VS (ENG) Chris Langridge／ Heather Olver

Liliyana Natsir／Tontowi Ahmad [3] (INA) VS [qualifier]

Kim Ki Jung／Kim So Young (KOR) VS (HKG) CHAN Yun Lung ／TSE Ying Suet

Tarun Kona／Ashwini Ponnappa (IND) VS [qualifier]
( Edit by VICTOR Badminton )