Barcelona will be hosting the now HSBC BWF World Tour Super 300 tournament, which has attracted big names from all over the globe. Namely the hugely anticipated return of the great Lee Yong Dae with his partner Kim Gi Jung.
It has been a tough period for Lee Yong Dae and South Korean badminton as a whole. Lee, who retired from Badminton in 2016, became a father in 2017, and had the great sadness of burying his long-standing doubles partner, Jung Jae Sung following a heart attack that shook the Badminton world earlier this year. Lee Yong Dae now 29 years old, along with Kim Gi Jung (28), make their return to Badminton in the Men’s Doubles on European soil. What a privelage it will be.
As an unseeded pair, if all goes to plan, they are likely to meet the number one seeds, and experienced duo, Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen. The Danes themselves will be focused to get back on track after an earlier than expected exit at the World Championships.
Home superstar, Carolina Marin, is fresh from doing her country proud and making history when winning a third World Championship in the Women’s Singles. She will be hoping to put on a show, light up the tournament and give the crowd a reason to celebrate come finals day.
The number 2 seed from Japan, Sayaka Takahashi, who has beaten Marin once before, will be the one to watch to see if she will spoil the Spanish party.
In the Men’s Singles, Jan O Jorgensen will be looking to continue his return and climb up the world rankings with a deep run in this draw. As 4th seed, the determined Dane has a tricky opening match against France’s Lucas Claerbout.
Also hoping to continue rising-up the rankings are Mixed Doubles pair Niclas Nøhr and Sara Thygesen. The Danish 4th seeds have been in great form recently and are a real threat in Spain. But they remain focused on each match, as Nøhr states
-I think we got a bit advantages due to the seeding. But we also have respect for the Dutch pairing we are going to face in the first round and maybe later also. But of course, we want to keep the seeding result.
For all the seedings and fixtures click
here.