The Badminton World Championships are here again! The championships are taking place in Copenhagen, Denmark August 21st-27th 2023. All the world's best players are present, competing for medals. There will be many exciting matches, so it's worth following the championships! Unfortunately, we couldn't organize a group trip to the championships, but you can watch the matches live on YouTube and follow the players on social media. You can also track the tournament results on TournamentSoftware!
Tapion Sulka's shuttler Kalle Koljonen is the sole Finnish representative in the championships. Kalle's journey begins Monday morning. In the first round, Kalle will face the ninth-seeded HS Prannoy (India). Kalle's match is expected to start around 12 o'clock. The match is the fourth match on court three, with matches starting at 10:15 in Finnish time. Remember to cheer for Kalle!
TS reached Kalle at the competition venue for comments before the start of the tournament:
🎤 "Feeling relaxed and it's nice to go and play in the World Championships for the fifth time in my career. The opponent is almost the toughest possible, but I enjoy the role of the underdog. However, I'm not stepping onto the field to bow to my opponent, and my game condition is excellent!"
🎤 "The arena is quite slow and based on my own training, there's a noticeable crosswind. Nevertheless, the arena conditions are overall good, and I can't find anything to complain about them - quite the opposite!"
The world's best players are also coming to Finland for the Arctic Open on October 10-15, which will be played at the Vantaa Energy Arena. The tournament is part of the Badminton World Tour. It's a good idea to follow the World Championships so that you become familiar with the top players before you get to see them live in October! For more information about the tournament, visit the Badminton Finland’s website. Get your tickets for the Arctic Open here.
Here's a brief preview of the championships starting on Monday:
The clear favorite for the tournament is Denmark's Viktor Axelsen (No. 1), a two-time world champion. Indonesia's second-seeded Anthony Ginting withdrew from the championship (due to his mother's sudden passing), which leaves the lower half of the draw open for several strong competitors. Out of the 19 World Tour tournaments played this year, 18 different players have lost in the final (Fun fact by Gillian Clark), indicating that the battle for the championship and medals will be very intense. Other contenders for medals include Kunlavut Vitidsarn (No. 3), the 2022 World Championship runner-up, Li Shi Feng (No. 6), the 2023 All England winner, Kodai Naraoka (No. 4), and Jonatan Christie (No. 5). They'll be challenged by Loh Kean Yu, the 2021 world champion, former world No. 2 Shi Yu Qi, Denmark's Anders Antonsen, and many more. It's truly exciting!!
The favorite going into the tournament is Korean An Se Young (No. 1), who has reached 11 out of 12 finals this year. Impressive! Her strongest challengers are Japan's reigning world champion Akane Yamaguchi (No. 2), China's Tokyo Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei (No. 3), and Taiwan's Tai Tzu Ying (No. 4). The battle for medals cannot exclude three-time world champion Carolina Marin (No. 6) and China's He Bing Jiao (No. 5).
China's Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong (No. 1) are the clear favorites in mixed doubles. Barring any surprises, we might see Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino (No. 2) facing off against the top seeds in the finals. It's interesting to note that in a potential quarterfinal match, one of the Chinese pairs, Huang Dong Ping (former world No. 1 in 2021), with new partner Fen Yan Zhe (No. 3), will meet the emerging pair Jiang Zhen Bang/Wei Ya Xin (No. 7), who defeated the world No. 1 pair in the Asian Championship final! Other strong contenders for the championship include Thailand's Taerattanachai/Puavaranukroh (No. 4, world champs in 2021), as well as Korean pairs Seo/Chae (No. 5) and Kim/Jeong (No. 6). There are also many strong European pairs, such as Giquel/Delrue (No. 8), Tabeling/Piek (No. 9), and Christiansen/Boje (No. 11). Let's hope to see European success!
The favorites entering the tournament are India's Chirag Shetty/Satwik Rankireddy (No. 2), who have shown impressive form in the latter part of the season. Additionally, Rankireddy set a new world record this year by hitting a smash at 565 km/h! Challenging them are Indonesia's Fajar Alfian/Rian Ardianto (No. 1), the 2023 All England champions, and China's Wang Chang/Liang Weikeng (No. 3), known for their spectacular play. Of course, we cannot discount the reigning World champion pair Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik (No. 4), and former champions Hoki/Kobayashi (2021), Ashan/Setiawan (2013, 2015, 2019), Liu Yu Chen (2018) with his new partner Ou Xuan Yi and Lee/Wang (Olympic Champs 2021). All these pairs have the potential to surprise. It's really fascinating to follow this battle!
The favorites for the championship are China's Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan (No. 1), the reigning world champions and Tokyo Olympic silver medalists. They will be particularly challenged by Korean pairs Lee So Hee/Baek Ha Na (No. 2), this year's Asian champions, and Kim So Yeong/Kong Hee Yong (No. 3), who have won the most recent World Tour events of the summer. Other challengers include four strong Japanese pairs, as well as other Chinese and Korean pairs. Chinese pairs have won the women's doubles world championship 22 out of the 27 times it has been held. Who will win this time?
Monday 21.08.2023 – 09.00-22.00 – 1st round
Tuesday 22.08.2023 – 09.00-21.00 – 1st and 2nd rounds
Wednesday 23.08.2023 – 09.00-21.00 – 2nd round
Thursday 24-08-2023 – 12.00-22.00 – 3rd round
Friday 25.08.2023 – 11.00-22.00 – QF
Saturday 26.08.2023 – 10.00-20.00 – Semi-finals
Sunday 27.08.2023 – 11.00-18.30 – Finals