The inaugural Korea Open Super Series Premier, which offers a tantalizing US$1.2 million in overall prize money, will be held in South Korea’s freezing capital of Seoul from Tuesday until Sunday. Seoul is currently covered in snow and is a shivering minus 10 degrees Celsius.
“Yes, it is freezing here. But it’s OK, we need only warm up,” world number three men’s doubles player Kido told The Jakarta Post over the phone Monday.
“Hendra’s knee has only recuperated 80 percent, but we have seen some progress in his recovery. We shall see [how it is] one step at a time,” Jaya Raya badminton club coach Sigit Pamungkas said.
“But Kido is getting fitter. So, we are ready [for Korea],” said the former men’s doubles coach and now personal coach of Hendra and Kido.
Hendra’s knee injury forced Hendra and Kido to withdrew from two consecutive tournaments, including the Super Series season finale in Taiwan in January and the Malaysia Open Super Series in Kuala Lumpur, which concluded Sunday.
In Wednesday’s opener, 3rd-seeds Hendra and Kido will face Thailand’s Songphon Anugritayawon and Sudket Prapakamol; a repeat of their first-round match in the Hong Kong Open Super Series last December; a match they won 21-15, 21-15.
If they come through their first match, the Indonesian duo will likely meet 6th seeds Lee Yong-Dae and Jung Jae-Sung in the quarterfinals. Hendra and Kido have a three win four loss record against the South Koreans.
Separately, world number two men’s singles player Taufik Hidayat also expects to raise his game after losing to world number one Lee Chong Wei in the finals of the recent Malaysia Open. Facing Japanese Sho Sasaki in the opener, Taufik should enjoy a smooth ride to the quarters, where he is likely to face China’s best singles payer, Lin Dan.
Unlike Taufik’s relatively merciful draw, Malaysia Open champion Lee faces a tougher road to the quarts, with Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark and China’s Chen Jin and Bao Chunlai as well as host’s Park Sung Hwan in his side of the draw.
“I always give my best and you can expect the same in Korea, even though I have an extremely difficult draw,” Lee said as quoted by the Badminton World Federation’s official website. Last year, Lee won three back-to-back tournaments at the start of the year, the Korea and the Malaysia Opens and the All England.
In the women’s division, Maria Febe Kusumastuti, the only Indonesian singles player in the main draw, will clash with first seed Wang Xin of China, who is the world number three. Compatriots Lindaweni Fanetri and Aprilia Yuswandari must qualify to enter the main draw, and Adrianti Firdasari withdrew due to a foot injury.
Mixed doubles pair Fran Kurniawan and Pia Zebadiah Bernadeth will also face a very tough hurdle in the opener in the form of world number one pair Thomas Laybourn and Kamilla Rytter Juhl from Denmark.
Indonesian women’s doubles hopefuls Greysia Polii and Meiliana Jauhary have had additional time to prepare for Seoul as they decided to withdraw from the Malaysia Open. If the pair can beat their qualifier opponents in the first round, they are likely to clash against top Taiwanese pair Cheng Wen Hsing and Chien Yu Chin.
The Korea Open is one of five Badminton World Federation Super Series Premiers this year. They include the All England in March, the Indonesian Open in June, the Denmark Open in October and the China Open in November.
courtesy of The Jakarta Post
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