On May 1, the Chinese Badminton Association announced the 2023 Sudirman Cup World Badminton Mixed Team Championship Chinese team 20 participants, led by Shi Yuqi, Chen Yufei, Liu Yuchen / Ou Weiyi, Chen Qingchen / Jia Yifan, Zheng Siwei / Huang Yaqiong This list is not too surprising, but in mixed doubles, in addition to "IELTS", the other pair is Feng Yanzhe / Huang Dongping, which also means that Tokyo Olympic champion Wang Yilu / Huang Dongping basically did not qualify for the Paris Olympics.
The 2023 Sudirman Cup will be held in Suzhou from May 14 to 21. As a mixed team tournament to test the overall strength of a team, and the first leg of the Paris Olympic Points Tournament, the Sudirman Cup is the most important tournament for Guoyu in the first half of 2023, but can Guoyu successfully defend his title with such a lineup?
Shi Yuqi in the game
Three Jiangsu players were selected
The Chinese Badminton Association said that based on the comprehensive consideration of factors such as athletes' world rankings, international competition performance and young people's training, the list of 20 participants was finally determined. In the men's singles, two Jiangsu players, Shi Yuqi and Lu Guangzu, were selected, in addition to this year's All England men's singles champion Li Shifeng, who unfortunately lost last season, Zhao Junpeng, who improved rapidly last season.
Shi Yuqi, Li Shifeng and Lu Guangzu are the three highest-ranked players in the world at present, ranking 10th, 11th and 14th respectively, but as the least competitive individual among the five events, the current situation of the men's singles is not optimistic. At the Asian Championships that just ended last Sunday, Shi Yuqi was eliminated on his debut, Li Shifeng and Lu Guangzu also lost to Jin Ting and Luo Jianyou, in the Sudirman Cup, no matter who is sent to the men's singles, it is difficult to win against Denmark, Indonesia, Chinese Taipei, Malaysia and other teams.
In the women's singles, Jiangsu girl He Bingjiao was selected, and she and Chen Yufei and Wang Zhiyi were all ranked among the top ten in the world. There will be no mistakes in the three's match against the world's second-rate players, but in the face of the three giants of Akane Yamaguchi, An Zhiying and Dai Ziying, everyone's winning rate is not high, it depends on whether Chen Yufei can show his always tenacious spirit in the team competition and have a breakthrough performance.
Chen Yufei in the game
The "Huang Ya" combination may not be able to participate in the Paris Olympics
The selection of the men's doubles pair Liu Yuchen/Ou Weiyi and Leung Weihang/Wang Chang is a sure thing, since last year, the once weak points have improved significantly, these two pairs are now ranked fifth and seventh in the world, and have also performed well in some master matchups, but such good performances are not yet normal. However, men's doubles competitions often have a tradition of "playing chicken blood", and perhaps these two pairs can also surprise everyone again in the Su Cup.
World No. 1 Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan and world No. 3 Zheng Yu/Zhang Shuxian are naturally absolute candidates for women's doubles, but the selection of the two post-00s youngsters Liu Shengshu/Tan Ning is still slightly unexpected, and Guoyu did not select Li Wenmei, Liu Xuanxuan, Xia Yuting and other young players who had given some opportunities but did not seize them, but took a longer-term view.
The top spot in mixed doubles is world number one Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong, so who will be the number two role? In fact, this answer began to be searched for at the end of last year, and there was basically an answer at the beginning of this year, that is, Feng Yanzhe/Huang Dongping, who replaced the "Yellow Duck" combination. This also means that Tokyo Olympic champions Wang Yilu/Huang Dongping basically missed the Paris Olympic Games.
Feng Yanzhe (right)/Huang Dongping in the game
Although they rarely encountered a "round trip" at the just-concluded Asian Championships, the strength and potential of Feng Yanzhe/Huang Dongping are still very obvious, and their current world ranking has reached the seventh place, through the grinding of the Su Cup, it will also lay a good foundation for the entire Olympic points competition.
The Su Cup playing at home cannot be lost, this list is also the strongest team that Guoyu can now come up with, although in addition to mixed doubles, the other four individual events are not absolutely sure of points, but under the comprehensive strength and unity, the Chinese team is still the most championship-like team, and has a great possibility of successfully winning the crown.
Proofreading by Tao Shangong