The 2022 HSBC BWF World Tour Finals will be kicking-off in Bangkok on Wednesday. Today and tomorrow, we will take a look at our European players participating in what will be the final tournament of the year. In the first part of our preview, we will focus on the doubles pairs Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen (Denmark) and Thom Gicquel/Delphine Delrue (France).
In the World Tour Finals, this year’s top eight of each discipline will fight for the crown of the 2022 World Tour from 14 – 18 December in Bangkok, Thailand. With a total prize money of 1.500.000 US-Dollars it’s the biggest event of the year next to the world championships.
In mixed doubles, Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue will participate in the BWF World Tour Finals for the second time after making it to the semifinals of the 2020 edition. The French played a great year in 2022 with runner-up at the Indonesian Masters and at the European Championships being their top results.
At tonight’s draw ceremony they were selected in Group A alongside Zheng Siwei/Huan Ya Qiong (China), Goh Soon Huat/Lai Shevon Jemie (Malaysia), and Rinov Rivaldy/Pitha Haningtyas Mentari (Indonesia). Especially Zheng Siwei and Huang Ya Qiong are a tough match-up for the young French pair: “I think they are the best pair in the world right now. He is very fast and powerful and has a good deception. They are really tough to play”, admitted Thom Gicquel.
Can Astrup/Rasmussen do it again?
It’s not the first World Tour Finals event for Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen. In 2018 the Danes participated for the first time, survived the group stage, and made it to the semifinals. Currently, they are ranked as the world's number five in men’s doubles. It’s the highest ranking of their career so far.
In Bangkok, Astrup/Rasmussen will face Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan (Indonesia), Liu Yu Chen/Ou Xuan Yi (China), and Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik in Group B.
Having the current world champions and silver medalists in the same group sounds super tough, but Astrup/Rasmussen have actually won their last match against both Chia/Yik and Ahsan/Setiawan. Will they be able to do it again this week?
The first matches of the 2022 HSBC BWF World Tour Finals will start on Wednesday.