YONEX JAPAN OPEN Preview - When the Cat’s Away, the Mice will Play

The prestigious Yonex Japan Open is ready to kick off with some big names missing, such as Lin Dan, Xie Xingfang, Lu Lan, Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng. Still, exciting matches are just around the corner and it will be a great opportunity for some to clinch gold.

By Tarek Hafi, Badzine Correspondent. Photos: Badmintonphoto (archives)

A final before its time: that is what is waiting as a first round dish for Lee Chong Wei (photo) who is set to meet Thai Superman Boonsak Ponsana, last week's runner-up at the China Masters. The Thai used up a lot of energy in his semi-final against Chen Jin, and needless to say that Chong Wei will bank on that, given the form of Ponsana. However, even if he gets past that first obstacle, the top half of the draw is full of potential winners, such as the titleholder Sony Dwi Kuncoro - who beat Lee Chong Wei in last year’s final and in the recent World Championships - but also Lin Dan's nemesis Park Sung Hwan and Indonesian veteran Taufik Hidayat.

The two favourites in the lower part of the draw would have to be Peter Gade and Nguyen Tien Minh, though Gade will likely have to find his way past the once again unseeded Bao Chunlai in the quarter-finals.

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Gone for good?

Her appearance in Japan was eagerly awaited but in the end, she will not show her greatness on court. Xie Xingfang decided to withdraw from the tournament, citing a lower back injury, disappointing thousands of frustrated fans who were hoping for a last chance to see Xie Xingfang showing her graceful movements and divine skills. Nevertheless, the still very efficient Chinese women's singles team contains, as ever, several clear favourites to clinch gold in Tokyo, even without the newly crowned China Masters champion, Wang Shixian, who had decided not to enter this event in favour of concentrating on the upcoming Chinese National Games, and Lu Lan, who pulled out at the last minute.

Beijing Olympic bronze medallist, Maria Kristin Yulianti (photo) is looking at the same hurdle she encountered in the Olympics in her path to the quarter-final. That is, if she triumphs in her first round match - in which it will very likely be China’s new sensation Wang Xin who breaks out of the qualification rounds - Tine Rasmussen will likely be awaiting the winner. The one who emerges from that snake pit is, in turn, likely in for a quarter-final against Saina Nehwal. Maria Kristin however, is still very fragile, suffering from a very tenacious knee injury, which makes her path even more difficult. Top-seeded veteran Zhou Mi will be forced to bring out her best repertoire of shots, from quarter-final onwards even if Lu’s withdraw might make it a bit easier on her.

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Big guns back on court

The 3rd and 6th ranked pairs of Jung Jae Sung/Lee Yong Dae and Fu Haifeng/Cai Yun will be missing the Yonex Japan Open: Lee Yong Dae, who just celebrated his 21st birthday, is still being treated for an arm injury, while Cai Yun withdrew from the tournament after he got injured last week. But the draw still has its first seeds, Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan (photo), and they will have a tough first round match against the dangerous new Korean pair Cho Gun Woo / Yoo Yeon Seong, who are gaining notoriety after last week's China Masters where they reached the semi-final and even grabbed a game from the heavy favourites Cai and Fu. In fact, the Indonesians' last title, in April, came with a very narrow win over Yoo Yeon Seong in a more temporary pairing.

Malaysia's Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong could also prove lethal as they currently are the 2nd seeds and seem to have gotten back their speed and accuracy on court.

Favourites all the way?

As expected, the Olympic champions, Lee Yong Dae and Lee Hyo Jung won't be competing during the Japan Open, leaving the highest part of the draw widely open for their Beijing's Olympic finalists Nova Widianto and Lilyana Natsir to reach the final and regain their second world spot, stolen by the Chinese Zheng Bo and Ma Jin. Xie Zhongbo, also, will be absent after he was quickly treated at the hospital in Changzhou for a heart problem after his final and his withdrawal was soon followed by those of Xu/Zhao and He/Yu. With the current state of the draw, the title in Tokyo might end up in the pocket of three or four pairs, and one of the key matchups to watch will definitely be the quarter-final rematch between Zheng/Ma and Denmark's Laybourn/Rytter Juhl, who met in the final eight in Hyderabad as well, on the Danes' road to becoming World Champions.

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Asian Champions Ready for the Big Stage?

Titleholders and world number one pair Cheng Shu and Zhao Yunlei decided to give this event a miss, certainly preserving their energy for their highly anticipated National Games, and the same path was later chosen by Olympic champions Du/Yu. That leaves Ma Jin alone with her partner - just as in the mixed doubles - and Ma and Wang Xiaoli (pictured), having won three Grand Prix Gold titles this year, are now ready to take their show on the road, playing in their first Super Series event together outside of China. They look set for a very early final-like match as they must take on Malaysian top seeds Wong Pei Tty and Chin Eei Hui in a quarter-final rematch of their June final in Johor Bahru. Waiting for the victor in the bottom half of the draw will likely be either second seeds Kim/Ha of Korea or possibly Japan's own Maeda/Suetsuna, who were responsible for offing the top seeds at the recent World Championships.

To view the complete draws for the 2009 Yonex Japan Open, please CLICK HERE

Badzine will be in Tokyo all week to bring all the action to you in live photos and reports.

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