Badminton News: The badminton championship is heating up again. After the shocking final of the Thomas Uber Cup, the tensions will continue in the next two events in Indonesia, namely the Indonesia Masters and the Indonesia Open. The Indonesia Masters will be held for the first time from June 7-12 and will be followed by the Indonesia Open from June 14-19, 2022.

The Indonesia Masters, while below the Indonesia Open in terms of category level, are no less fierce. Almost all the best badminton players in the world will participate in the championship which will be held at Istora Gelora Bung Karno or formerly known as Istora Senayan in Jakarta, Indonesia.

In men’s singles, only Japan’s Kento Momota of the world top 10 is absent. But even without Momota, the championship with a total prize of 360,000 USD is no less exciting. It will still be a tight match, even for the Danish duo who occupy the first and second seeds, Viktor Axelsen and Anders Antonsen, it will not be easy to meet the two in the final.

One of the challengers is the two main hosts, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting and Jonatan Christie. However, the performance of both is no longer top notch either. This can be seen in the 2022 Thomas Cup Final match. The two couldn’t bring Indonesia any points when India beat them in the final round. Fan support alone isn’t enough to make Anthony and Jojo champions.

Other men’s singles players to watch are Lee Zii Jia from Malaysia and Loh Kean Yew from Singapore. Zii Jia has beaten Axelsen twice, including in the All England 2021 final. Meanwhile, Loh Kean Yew has the power to beat Tokyo 2020 Olympics gold medalist Axelsen at the 2021 World Championships.

It will be just as exciting in men’s doubles. Even if Indonesia is the top seed with Kevin Sanjaya/Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Hendra Setiawan/Mohammad Ahsan, it is not a guarantee that there will be an all-Indonesian final. The results at the Tokyo Olympics are proof of this. Neither pair managed to win the gold medal. Kevin/Marcus only reached the quarter-finals and Hendra/Ahsan lost the bronze medal.

At the Indonesia Masters, the destroyer of the “golden dream”, the couple from Chinese Taipei Lee Yang/Wang Chi-lin, will be present. They were placed as the third seed. Additionally, Tokyo Olympic bronze medalists Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia will participate in building the heat at the Indonesia Masters.

While in women’s singles, the top challenger, Chen Yu Fei from China, will face fierce resistance. The presence of Carolina Marin again could destroy his ambition to become champion. He lost three times in five encounters with the Spaniard who was seeded third. Chen Yu Fei has a good chance of beating An Se Young from Korea as she has consistently won in seven encounters with Korean players.

The Chinese women’s doubles pair, Chen Qingchen/Jia Yi Fan, has the opportunity to take advantage of the Indonesian Masters to take revenge. Being the first seed, they certainly can’t forget the bitter defeat of Korean pair Lee So-hee/Shin Seung-chan in the 2022 Uber Cup Finals last May. The two are very likely to meet again in the final round. In the 2022 Uber Cup Final, Chen Qingchen/Jia Yi Fan lost three games 21-12, 18-21, 18-21. A result that allowed Korea to regain confidence before finally beating China 3-2.

Being the first seed also doesn’t guarantee Thai mixed doubles pair Dechapol Puavaranukroh/Sapsiree Taerattanachai will become champions. Also, in 2022, their achievements are not as good as in 2021. This year, they won the German Open only once. Moreover, at home during the Thailand Open which took place after the Thomas-Uber Cup and in the same place, Dechapol Puavaranukroh/Sapsiree Taerattanachai failed to win. In the final, they lost to Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong from China. At the 2022 Indonesia Masters, Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong also participated and placed second.

Article tags: Indonesia Masters 2022, Istora Senayan Jakarta, Putri Kusuma Wardani

Published by Ligaolahraga.com at https://www.ligaolahraga.com/badminton/preview-indonesia-masters-2022-tensi-tinggi-akan-panaskan-istora