Badminton’s elite arrive in Dubai for Superseries Finals

This content was originally posted in 7DAYS UAE website at: Badminton’s elite arrive in Dubai for Superseries Finals The elite of world badminton are back in Dubai to battle it out for one of the most prestigious and fiercely contested titles in the sport, the season ending Dubai World Superseries Finals. The extravaganza will take place at the Hamdan Sports Complex from December 9-13. Only the eight top-ranked players from the BWF Destination Dubai Rankings in men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles and mixed doubles have earned a place at the prestigious tournament, which sees them compete for a share of a US$1million prize pool. To qualify for Dubai the players had to amass points from twelve MetLife BWF World Superseries Tournaments held around the world throughout the year. Speaking at the pre-event Press Conference and Draw today, Poul-Erik Høyer, president of the Badminton World Federation said: “We are delighted to be back in Dubai for the annual showpiece to crown the season’s top players. We are also thrilled with the exciting partnership we have developed which has allowed us to share our sport with Dubai and the wider Gulf region. “The success of BWF’s development programme, Shuttle Time, in Dubai – especially among schoolchildren has been highly significant. The Dubai community’s enthusiasm for badminton gives us much optimism for the future as we continue growing the sport here.” The Press Conference was also attended by H.E. Saeed Hareb, secretary general of Dubai Sports Council who said: “We are delighted to be welcoming the world’s best back to Dubai. We enjoy attracting major sporting events to Dubai and using the excellent facilities here to provide a first class experience for players and fans alike. We also have a responsibility to create a sporting legacy and through staging the Dubai World Superseries Finals, we are able to hit all of these objectives.” And in an exciting development, the event received a major boost today with the announcement of Emirates Airline as a major sponsor of the event. Boutros Boutros, Emirates Divisional senior vice president, Corporate Communications Marketing and Brand, on the announcement said: “The Dubai World Superseries Finals is our first badminton sponsorship and an excellent addition to our growing portfolio. We have a proud history of supporting major international events both in Dubai and around the world, and we are pleased to now be associated with badminton – a sport that is rapidly growing in popularity globally. We look forward to developing this valued partnership over the coming years.” The official Draw, held earlier today, will see World champion Chen Long, already the first player to win 100,000 ranking points on the world tour, drawn in the same pool as two Chinese compatriots and his nearest rival if he is to make a successful defence of the BWF Super Series title and equal the record of three titles in the flagship year-end event. Chen has been drawn into a group containing Tian Houwei, a rising 23-year-old world number eight from Fujian, and Hu Jun, the world number 13 who is also a citizen of the People’s Republic but represents Hong Kong. The other player in the group’s quartet is Jan Jorgensen, the world number two from Denmark. But this demanding task does not appear to worry the tall 26-year-old from Hubei whose confidence has grown along with the seven big titles he has won this year. “There is no good draw to be had in an event like this,” Chen said. “All eight players are great and you have to do well from the start. And I don’t think about being defending champion. This is the perfect tournament with a fantastic atmosphere last year, and I expect this year too, and I want to enjoy it.” The other group is topped by Kento Momota, the world number five from Japan, and contains another top six Dane, Viktor Axelsen, as well as the best Indian, Kidambi Srikanth, and Chou Tien-Chen of Taipei, ranked seven in the world after reaching the French Open final. The other world champion Carolina Marin will be making her first appearance in the BWF Super Series finals, even though she was world champion last year too. Then she did not qualify because her ranking was outside the top ten, but now she sits top of the list and favourite to win the year-end event for the first time. The remarkable Spaniard has however landed in a group with her closest rival, Saina Nehwal, the Indian who was twice world number one earlier this year, and also with the titleholder, Tai Tzu Ying, of Taipei. Marin’s other opponent will be Nozomi Okuhara, a steadily climbing Japanese player. “My expectations are to win the title,” said Marin, with typical verve. “But I also want to enjoy myself because that is necessary to succeed.” Two former world number ones from China, Wang Shixian, and Wang Yihan, will have to face each other in the other group, which also contains Ratchanok Intanon, the former world champion from Thailand and Sung Ji-hyun, the world number four from Korea. Meanwhile two other Koreans, Lee Yong Dae and Yoo Yeon Seong, will begin the defence of their men’s doubles title in a group which contains the world champions, Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia. Two other world champions, Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei, will defend the mixed doubles title, whilst the women’s doubles titleholders, Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi of Japan, have landed in a group containing the top seeds, Luo Yiu and Luo Yu, the twin sisters from China. Action in the BWF Dubai World Superseries Finals starts on Wednesday December 9 at 10 am. Matches will be played throughout the day, concluding at 10 pm. The order of play and all the details can be found at http://www.dubaisuperseriesfinals.ae Tickets for the BWF Dubai World Superseries Finals are on sale at www.ticketmaster.ae, Prices start from AED 20, with those under 18 years entering for free when accompanied by a ticketed adult. For more information go to Website: http://www.dubaisuperseriesfinals.ae Read the original story at: Badminton’s elite arrive in Dubai for Superseries Finals