SUPERSERIES FINALS 2014 – 14 more clinch Dubai tickets in Fuzhou

Zhao Yunlei clinched two and Christinna Pedersen and Kim Ha Na each took a second as a total of 14 more tickets to the BWF Destination Dubai World Superseries Finals were clinched after the penultimate Superseries event of the season.

By Don Hearn.  Photos: Badmintonphoto

Olympic and World Champions Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei were the last of 14 to clinch their spots in the season-ending BWF Destination Dubai World Superseries Finals.  Zhao Yunlei (pictured) was firmly ensconced in the top 8 in both mixed and level doubles, needing only to shake off challenges from other Chinese pairs to be one of the top two from their team.  Tian and Zhao’s advance also made women’s doubles the only discipline in which developments at the China Open in Fuzhou meant that a top 8 pair irretrievably lost the chance to qualify for the Finals.

Jan Jorgensen (pictured) was the only one joining Chen Long in mathematically clinching a men’s singles spot, while men’s doubles saw 3 pairs cement their places and 4 each did the same in mixed doubles and women’s singles.  Far more movement happened at the low end, as the China Open resulted in no fewer than 32 players slipping out of contention before the kickoff of the 12^th and last ‘regular season’ Superseries event in Hong Kong on Tuesday.

In the following analysis, I am using a conservative definition of ‘clinch’ – marked on the table in bold italics – that entails a top 8 player having enough points to be out of reach of the 9^th place player or pair even should the latter win and the former be unable to play in the first round in Hong Kong.  In practice, several other players may be safe if one considers that some of the players who could theoretically earn enough points in the last two tournaments to pass the top 8 player would have to play each other too early.

I have shown in bold the 8 players and pairs who would qualify were the Superseries to end after the China Open.  I have shown, in grey, both the first ineligible player or pair, as well as players who cannot qualify due to being behind two compatriots.  Finally, I have marked with an x, those who will be inactive at the Hong Kong Open.

Men’s singles is still the most wide open.  Even with a whopping 12 players dropped from its chase pack, there are still 11 who have a mathematical chance of reaching the top 8.  That number is 10 if one assumes that Lee Chong Wei’s provisional suspension will still be in effect, as is likely, when the Dubai invitations are issued.

On the top end, only Jan Jorgensen got his point total high enough in Fuzhou to put himself completely out of reach of fewer than 7 other players, joining Chen Long (and Lee Chong Wei) in that category.  New #4 Kento Momota (pictured) is still in danger of being passed by as many as 3 players currently ranked outside the top 8 (plus everyone in it), although that number will drop to one if he simply steps on court in Hong Kong.

Even Germany’s Marc Zwiebler still has an extremely outside chance, but only if he wins the Hong Kong Open and one of the bottom 3 currently in the top 8 withdraws from Hong Kong and no one else catches them.  Chou Tien Chen (pictured below) kept his hopes alive, too, but now needs only slightly fewer miracles.

1  Lee Chong Wei (MAS) – 63700 x
2  Chen Long (CHN) – 60460
3  Jan Jorgensen (DEN) – 51830
4  Kento Momota (JPN) – 46850
5  Son Wan Ho (KOR) – 45380
6  K. Srikanth (IND) – 45100
7  Hans-Kristian Vittinghus (DEN) – 41860
8  Tommy Sugiarto (INA) – 41750
9  Kenichi Tago (JPN) – 40820
10  Hu Yun (HKG) – 38740
11  Kashyap Parupalli (IND) – 37910
12  Wang Zhengming (CHN) – 36720
13  Takuma Ueda (JPN) – 36620
14  Sho Sasaki (JPN) – 36470
15  Viktor Axelsen (DEN) – 35580
16  Chou Tien Chen (TPE) – 35420
17  Lee Dong Keun (KOR) – 35030
18  Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk (THA) – 33360
19  Marc Zwiebler (GER) – 32740
20  Tian Houwei (CHN) – 31520

With 4 Chinese pairs now in the women’s doubles top 8, there is still the question of which 2 will end up the highest.  Ma/Tang did indeed lose their status by not competing in the last two Superseries events and Tian/Zhao are certain of being one of the two top Chinese pairs, having moved ahead of Bao/Tang when they reached the semis in Fuzhou.

With Bao/Tang not playing in Hong Kong, the door is open to Luo Ying / Luo Yu to join the World Champions, although with Tang having withdrawn injured in Fuzhou, it is likely that the twins will get the nod for Dubai either way.  Nitya Krishinda Maheswari / Gresya Polii (pictured) are the only pair whose spot is in jeopardy.  However, if they merely play one match Hong Kong, only their compatriots can catch them.

Finally, Korea’s Lee/Shin did not pass their compatriots but by losing early, it may have denied Korea the option of choosing them as a 2^nd pair.  If the Koreans elect not to send one of their two top pairs, both of which seem to have been disbanded after the Denmark Open, the 8^th spot may go to one of the 6 pairs who are within sight of the Korea Grand Prix champions’ point total.

1  Misaki Matsutomo / Ayaka Takahashi (JPN) – 76960
2  Reika Kakiiwa / Miyuki Maeda (JPN) – 63320
3  Kamilla Rytter Juhl / Christinna Pedersen (DEN) – 59450 x
4  Tian Qing / Zhao Yunlei (CHN) – 54390
5  Bao Yixin / Tang Jinhua (CHN) – 52730 x
6  Ma Jin / Tang Yuanting (CHN) – 50330 x
7  Luo Ying / Luo Yu (CHN) – 47790
8 Wang Xiaoli / Yu Yang (CHN) – 42200 x
9  Jang Ye Na / Kim So Young (KOR) – 40580 x
10  Jung Kyung Eun / Kim Ha Na (KOR) – 39200 x
11  Nitya Krishinda Maheswari / Gresya Polii (INA) – 32760
12  Lee So Hee / Shin Seung Chan (KOR) – 31320 x
13  Ko A Ra / Yoo Hae Won (KOR) – 29360 x
14  Pia Zebadiah Bernadeth / Rizki Amelia Pradipta (INA) – 29340
15  Shizuka Matsuo / Mami Naito (JPN) – 26360
16  Puttita Supajirakul / Sapsiree Taerattanachai (THA) – 24780
17  Jwala Gutta / Ashwini Ponnappa (IND) – 24120
18  Duang Anong Aroonkesorn / Kunchala Voravichitchaikul (THA) – 22940

In men’s doubles, the top three pairs clinched their spots early in the China Open and two new pairs entered the top 8.  The chase pack was more than cut in half, though, with the number of pairs still having a shot at a ticket to Dubai now down to only 4, including a 2^nd and 3^rd Chinese pair shooting for a maximum 2 spots.

Two of the players in limbo – Zhang Nan and Ko Sung Hyun (pictured right with Shin Baek Cheol)- are among those gunning for a second berth, along with Kenichi Hayakawa and his partner Misaki Matsutomo, both of whom have clinched in level doubles but are currently in the tiny mixed doubles chase pack.

1 Lee Yong Dae / Yoo Yeon Seong (KOR) – 60840
2  Lee Sheng Mu / Tsai Chia Hsin (TPE) – 60830
3  Hiroyuki Endo / Kenichi Hayakawa (JPN) – 56540
4  Mathias Boe / Carsten Mogensen (DEN) – 49260 x
5  Liu Xiaolong / Qiu Zihan (CHN) – 46610
6  Muhammad Ahsan / Hendra Setiawan (INA) – 46220
7  Chai Biao / Hong Wei (CHN) – 45690
8  Ko Sung Hyun / Shin Baek Cheol (KOR) – 44480
9  Fu Haifeng / Zhang Nan (CHN) – 44250
10  Hirokatsu Hashimoto / Noriyasu Hirata (JPN) – 43270
11  Gideon Markus Fernaldi / Markis Kido (INA) – 38930
12  Maneepong Jongjit / Nipitphon Puangpuapech (THA) – 38280
13  Angga Pratama / Ryan Agung Saputra (INA) – 33910 x

The women’s singles stayed almost the same in China, except for Eriko Hirose edging compatriot Sayaka Takahashi for the 9^th spot.  The main difference was that 4 shuttlers in the top 8 cemented their positions there and Li Xuerui’s absence from the last two events means that both Wangs can pass her but neither did so in Fuzhou.

Even the chase pack was only reduced from 10 players to 6.  The fact that there are two Thais – including Porntip Buranaprasertsuk (pictured) – chasing one unclinched spot means little, since Tai Tzu Ying at #7 is out of reach of both.

1  Li Xuerui (CHN) – 74950 x
2  Wang Shixian (CHN) – 71310
3  Wang Yihan (CHN) – 68310
4  Ratchanok Intanon (THA) – 55160
5  Saina Nehwal (IND) – 54970
6  Sung Ji Hyun (KOR) – 52950 x
7  Bae Yeon Ju (KOR) – 51100 x
8  Tai Tzu Ying (TPE) – 43420
9  Eriko Hirose (JPN) – 38560
10  Sayaka Takahashi (JPN) – 38000
11  Akane Yamaguchi (JPN) – 35980
12  Han Li (CHN) – 34780 x
13  Minatsu Mitani (JPN) – 33680
14  Nitchaon Jindapon (THA) – 33030
15  Porntip Buranaprasertsuk (THA) – 32480
16  P. V. Sindhu (IND) – 30210
17  Liu Xin (CHN) – 30190

Mixed doubles has both the most confirmed spots, at 6, but there are still four pairs in the chase pack.  It is also the only discipline which did not see a single change in the top 8 throughout the week in Fuzhou, although it had the most new clinchers, at 4, including Joachim Fischer-Nielsen / Christinna Pedersen (pictured)

Only Fuchs/Michels and the Adcocks are at risk of losing their top 8 places, with Kenichi Hayakawa / Misaki Matsutomo and 3 pairs from Southeast Asia breathing down the Europeans’ necks.  An additional two Chinese pairs are within reach of the top 8 but neither can catch either of their compatriots currently in the top 3.

1  Xu Chen / Ma Jin (CHN) – 69400
2  Tantowi Ahmad / Lilyana Natsir (INA) – 66620 x
3  Zhang Nan / Zhao Yunlei (CHN) – 61580
4  Ko Sung Hyun / Kim Ha Na (KOR) – 49190
5  Sudket Prapakamol / Saralee Thoungthongkam (THA) – 47590
6  Joachim Fischer-Nielsen / Christinna Pedersen (DEN) – 46460 x
7  Chris Adcock / Gabrielle Adcock (ENG) – 41350
8  Michael Fuchs / Birgit Michels (GER) – 39640
9  Liu Cheng / Bao Yixin (CHN) – 39110
10  Riky Widianto / Puspita Richi Dili (INA) – 37220
11  Lu Kai / Huang Yaqiong (CHN) – 36850
12  Mads Pieler Kolding / Kamilla Rytter Juhl (DEN) – 36800 x
13  Maneepong Jongjit / Sapsiree Taerattanachai (THA) – 36250
14  Kenichi Hayakawa / Misaki Matsutomo (JPN) – 35030
15  Danny Bawa Chrisnanta / Neo Yu Yan Vanessa (SIN) – 33690
16  Markis Kido / Pia Zebadiah Bernadeth (INA) – 32970

Note: The above numbers are based on our own calculations.  The official Superseries rankings should be published this Thursday, with the final lists coming out on November 27th.