Chinese pair Feng Yanzhe (left) and Huang Dongping (right) defeated South Korean pair Seo Seung-jae and Choi Yoo-hyun 2-1 in the mixed doubles final of the 2024 Asian Badminton Championships in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province on April 14, 2024 Photo/Xinhua News Agency
From April 9 to 14, 2024, the 2024 Badminton Asia Individual Championships (hereinafter referred to as the "Asian Championships") were held in Ningbo. According to the rules, the allocation of quota places will be determined according to the "Paris Olympic Qualification Rankings" on 30 April 2024, based on the results of athletes competing between 1 May 2023 and 28 April 2024.
Therefore, this Asian Championships is the last stop of the Olympic points competition, after the end of the competition, the Olympic points ranking will be finalized, and whether the Chinese badminton team can achieve full participation has also become the biggest suspense of this competition.
Men's Doubles Spotlight Battle
On April 12, 2024, the Ningbo Badminton Asian Championships entered the 1/4 finals. In the fourth match of the day on Court 1, Chinese Taipei's Men's Doubles pair Li Yang/Wang Chi Lin took on Malaysia's Goh Shi Fei/Nui Zuuddin. In the first two games, the two sides fought 21-19, 19-21 to a 1-1 draw, and with the last ball of the deciding game landing, the score was fixed at 19-21, Li Yang/Wang Qilin stopped in the quarterfinals, officially announcing that they would not participate in the Paris Olympics. As a result of their defeat, China's men's doubles pair Liu Yuchen/Ou Xuanyi also managed to maintain their Olympic points in the top eight, achieving a full quota for the Chinese team and securing a ticket to the men's doubles competition at the Paris Olympics.
In the post-match interview, Wu Shifei/Nui Zudin joked: "Liu Yuchen/Ou Xuanyi should have invited us to dinner!"
On May 14, 2023, the Suzhou Sudirman Cup kicked off the Paris Olympic points competition. In the semi-finals of the Sudirman Cup against the Japanese team, Liu Yuchen/Ou Xuanyi turned the tide and played after the mixed doubles and women's singles lost 2-0, and the deciding game was 16-20, with the Japanese team holding 4 match points. But at this time, the two did not give up, tied the score point by point, and finally scored 6 points in a row, won 22-20 and won the victory, achieving a miraculous reversal in the history of the Soviet Cup. This is the start of the men's doubles pair's Olympic standings, and it has also made fans have high hopes for them.
But then their competition was bumpy all the way, missing the quarterfinals in four consecutive tournaments, and stopping in the quarterfinals in high-level events such as the World Championships, Changzhou Championships, and Asian Games, until the French Championship and the year-end finals did not reach the semifinals. In the first five tournaments of 2024, the All England Open and the French Open, they made consecutive "second rounds", and the Olympic points ranking fell to eighth at one point. As a result, the only opportunity left for Liu Yuchen and Ou Xuanyi to secure an Olympic quota place is the Badminton Asian Championships in Ningbo from April 9 to 14, which is also the final stop of the Olympic points competition.
According to the rules of the Olympic Games, a maximum of two quota places can be allocated to a country or region with two or more players in the top 16 of the Olympic standings in the men's and women's singles events. In the men's and women's doubles events, if a country or region has two pairs in the top eight of the Olympic standings, the full quota of two pairs will be awarded.
In the men's doubles final of the 2024 Asian Badminton Championships held in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, on April 14, 2024, Chinese pair Leung Wei Keng (left) and Wang Chang defeated Malaysian pair Goh Shi Fei and Izuddin 2-1 to win the championship Photo/Xinhua News Agency
Before the start of the Asian Championships, Liu Yuchen/Ou Xuanyi and Maulana/Fikri were ranked eighth and ninth respectively, and with China's Men's Doubles pair Leung Wei Keng/Wang Chang and Indonesia's Men's Doubles pair Alfian/Ardianto already locked in the top eight, Liu Yuchen/Ou Xuanyi and Maulana/Fikri need to secure their eighth spot through the Asian Championships to grab an Olympic ticket.
In the first round, Fikri/Maulana lost 1-2 to Thailand's Subak/Gitinubong, losing their last hope of qualifying for the Olympics. Liu Yuchen/Ou Xuanyi were attacked by India's Arjun/Duruff to reach the tiebreaker, and in the end, Liu Yuchen/Ou Xuanyi won 26-24, and then successfully advanced in the second round to continue to maintain the initiative in the fight for the eighth spot.
However, with the loss of the two's quarter-finals, the initiative to retain Olympic qualification fell to Chinese Taipei Men's Doubles Li Yang/Wang Chi-lin. If they win the Asian Championships, they will be pushed out of the top eight, and they will miss out on Paris.
That's why Wu Shifei/Nui Zuuddin joked in interviews, and their victory secured Liu Yuchen/Ou Xuanyi's Olympic qualifications. The Chinese badminton team finally achieved full participation in the Paris Olympics.
The Chinese team ended with 3 golds, 3 silvers and 7 bronzes
On the evening of April 14, the final of the Asian Championships officially began, and the first to be held was the women's singles competition, which was played by Wang Zhiyi against Chen Yufei. In the end, No. 8 seed Wang Zhiyi defeated Chen Yufei, who had lost eight times before, 21-19, 21-7, to win the first victory of the two in international competitions and win the women's singles title at the Asian Championships for the second time. After winning the last point, Wang Zhiyi covered her face with her hands. "There's a sense of release," she said. There have been some ups and downs in the past two years, and a lot of things have been experienced, so I was more excited than when I won the championship in 2022. ”
At the award ceremony, Chen Yufei, Wang Zhiyi and teammates He Bingjiao and Han Yue, who stopped in the semifinals, stood on the podium together. In this regard, Chen Yufei said with a smile: "We are all very excited (to win the semi-finals). It's a very good trend and hopefully we can continue to improve together." ”
On April 14, 2024, in the women's singles final of the 2024 Asian Badminton Championships held in Ningbo, Zhejiang, Chinese player Wang Zhiyi defeated teammate Chen Yufei 2-0 to win the championship Photo/Visual China
The women's singles event is the biggest surprise of the Asian Championships. In the quarterfinals, Wang Zhiyi defeated Japan's Aya Ohori 15-21, 21-12, 21-11 to advance to the semifinals. He Bingjiao defeated top seed Ahn Se Ying of South Korea 21-17, 21-18 to break a seven-game losing streak against her opponent since 2023 and the women's singles team was able to meet in the top half of the region. In the bottom half, Han Yue defeated never-before-defeated Japan's Akane Yamaguchi 21-13, 21-16, while Chen Yufei defeated Indonesia's Mariska 21-16, 21-19 to seal a gold medal two days ahead of schedule.
In the Men's Doubles final, Leung Wai Hang/Wang Chang took on Malaysia's Goh Shi Fei/Nui Zuuddin, who had a poor start to the game, but the duo quickly adjusted their form and turned the tide to reach the top. In an interview after the game, Wang Chang said: "When I got to the final, I thought about many factors such as Ningbo's hometown, runner-up and champion, and everyone could see that I was really nervous today. ”
In the men's singles final, Hangzhou Asian Games champion and China's Li Shifeng faced Jakarta Asian Games champion Indonesia's Jonatan, who won in straight games to win the Asian Championships gold medal after winning the All England Open. After the game, Li Shifeng said that the opponent's strength is indeed relatively strong, and he has not been able to find the "right feeling".
On April 14, 2024, in the men's singles final of the 2024 Asian Badminton Championships held in Ningbo, Zhejiang, Chinese player Li Shifeng lost 0-2 to Indonesia's Jonatan and won the runner-up Photo/Xinhua News Agency
In the women's doubles final, Baek Ha Na/Lee So Hee defeated Zhang Shuxian/Zheng Yu 2-0 to win the championship. With the Chinese team occupying three seats in the women's doubles semifinals, the South Korean players passed two levels in a row and grabbed the gold medal.
The Mixed Doubles semi-finals were also won by three Chinese players and one Korean pair, with Feng Yanzhe/Huang Dongping eventually beating Korea's and world champions Seo Seung-jae/Choi Yoo-hyun 2-1 to claim the gold medal. In the game, the Chinese pair was passive for a while, and Huang Dongping recalled: "In the second game in the middle, Xiao Feng told me that he couldn't handle it well. I said it's okay, it's normal to not handle it well, so let's put our mindset in place. It was after that moment that our mentality changed, and we didn't hesitate to play the ball anymore. I looked back at Xiao Feng, there was an idea in his eyes, and then I believed that we could take it. ”
On April 14, 2024, in the women's doubles final of the 2024 Asian Badminton Championships held in Ningbo, Zhejiang, Chinese pair Zhang Shuxian (right) and Zheng Yu lost 0-2 to South Korean pair Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee and won the runner-up Photo/Xinhua News Agency
In this Asian Championships, the national feather finally won 3 golds, 3 silvers and 7 bronzes. The year-long Paris Olympics badminton Olympic points competition came to an end, and the Chinese badminton team won 10 full tickets in 5 events, becoming the only team to participate in the full quota.
Zhang Jun, chairman of the Chinese Badminton Association, said: "There are still more than 100 days before the Paris Olympics, and with the end of the Asian Championships, the Olympic qualification has been clarified, and the next focus is very clear - around the Olympic team members, improve their technical and tactical level and mentality. ”
In two weeks' time, the national team will travel to Chengdu to start the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup competition.
(References: Xinhua News Agency, "Badminton" and other related reports.) ）
Southern People Weekly reporter Zhang Mingmeng
Editor-in-charge: Chen Yafeng