Asian Games minus a defending champ, plus former World Champs

The badminton entry lists by individual event for the 2014 Incheon Asian Games have finally been made public and there are some surprises from Team China.  Absent from the women’s singles roster is World #2 and Asian Games defending gold medallist Wang Shixian.  She has been left to focus on the team event, along with Liu Xin, as world #1 Li Xuerui and #3 Wang Yihan were selected for the individual event, in what is always a tough decision for the Chinese coaching staff.

Meanwhile, all four other disciplines will feature defending champions as Tian Qing / Zhao Yunlei have got the nod in women’s doubles and Lin Dan has been entered in men’s singles along with current World Champion Chen Long.  Defending men’s doubles champion Hendra Setiawan will be in Incheon, along with Mohammad Ahsan and 2010 mixed champion Shin Baek Cheol is paired with Jang Ye Na.  Current men’s doubles World Champions Shin and Ko Sung Hyun will not feature as a pair in the Incheon individual event but each got the nod for mixed doubles, as well as in the men’s team event.

In addition to the inclusion of Lin Dan and Wang Yihan and Shin Baek Cheol, other former World Champions were among those included in the over higher-ranked team-mates.  Cai Yun / Fu Haifeng, who have not played in international competition together since the Guangzhou World Championships over a year ago, are entered along with world #8 Liu /Qiu.  While Malaysia’s two pairs together account for only three individual tournaments in the past year, one of these is the reigning Commonwealth Games champions and the other includes 2006 gold medallist Tan Boon Heong.

Thailand is going with Nitchaon Jindapon in the women’s singles, in place of the struggling Porntip Buranaprasertsuk, but Japan is making an even bolder move by playing 17-year-old Akane Yamaguchi along with Sayaka Takahashi.

Visit this link to see the Entry List by Event for any of the 7 badminton disciplines