CANADA OPEN 2010– Pi completes strongest field in 25 years

The entries are all in for the 2010 Yonex Canada Open Grand Prix and it is looking like the strongest badminton field to compete in Canada since the World Championships of 1985.  In addition to the already reported participation of former World Champions Taufik Hidayat and Zhu Lin, world #8 Pi Hongyan has thrown her hat into the ring where she will be competing with the top local players, including Canadian champion Anna Rice and runner-up Michelle Li. 

But the field gets stronger still, as key contingents from Germany, Korea, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, the U.S. and the Netherlands have also signalled their participation so the women’s singles, for example, will see a challenge from Super Series Masters Finals runner-up Juliane Schenk and Korea Open runner-up Sung Ji Hyun.

Especially noteworthy are two Singapore Open champion pairs Fang Chieh Min / Lee Sheng Mu of Chinese Taipei and Yao Lei / Shinta Mulia Sari of Singapore as well as Singapore runners-up Tony Gunawan / Howard Bach.  Korea’s 22-member team is the second largest, after Canada’s, and 19 of these are from the Korea National Sports University, coached by former All England champions Lee Dong Soo and Kim Yun Ja.  KNSU includes among its stars Swiss Open runners-up Shin Baek Cheol / Yoo Hyun Young and their respective doubles partners, Kim Ki Jung and Jung Kyung Eun will also be in Canada looking for Grand Prix hardware.

In fact, there was one other time that a list of badminton luminaries was assembled on Canada’s west coast and that was during the 2004 World Junior Championships but those stars – Chen Jin, Lee Yong Dae, Wang Lin, Wang Yihan, Ha Jung Eun, Tan Boon Heong, and Yu Yang, to name a few – had yet to really shine.  As might be expected, many of those competitors are now returning to Canada as experienced veterans, including Fang Chieh Min, Lee Sheng Mu, Chen Hung Ling, Dieter Domke, Han Ki Hoon, and Jang Soo Young.

To find out more about the 2010 Yonex Canada Open Grand Prix or to order tickets, visit their website

To see the complete list of entries, CLICK HERE