LI-NING Hong Kong Open Badminton Championships will kick off at the Coliseum in Hung Hom tomorrow (Tuesday) with all home players in their final preparations for the tournament. Ng Ka Long Angus, who will take on Viktor Axelsen in the first round, was disappointed with his luck of draw, but it would definitely be an interesting match of playing the reigning Olympic champion at home. “He will be coming to Hong Kong with great confidence as this is his first match after winning the Paris Olympics,” Ng said. “I will be very eager to find how much I can do against such a strong opponent.”
Possibly starting in their last home tournament, Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet would take it match by match without thinking too much. “We hope we can stay in the tournament for a few more days, play some good badminton for the fans so that they can watch us more,” the MIXED DOUBLES pair said.
Tuesday’s schedule will feature qualifying rounds in the MEN’S SINGLES, WOMEN’S SINGLES, MEN’S DOUBLES AND MIXED DOUBLES, with the main round kicking off the following day. The home players were busy in their final preparations on Monday with the opportunities of testing the four courts at the Coliseum. All four MEN’S SINGLES players, Lee Cheuk Yiu, Ng Ka Long Angus, Jason Gunawan and Chan Yin Chak, Lo Sin Yan Happy, Saloni Samirbhai Mehta and Yeung Sum Yee in the WOMEN’S SINGLES and two MIXED DOUBLES pairs, Tang Chun Man/Tse Ying Suet and Lee Chun Hei Reginald/Ng Tsz Yau arrived the venue in the morning while the MEN’S and WOMEN’S DOUBLES players practiced at the training courts.
The highlight of the MEN’S SINGLES main draw would be the two opening matches of the Hong Kong, China players as both Lee Cheuk Yiu and Ng Ka Long Angus were given a tough task. Ng, who just competed in the last two tournaments in Japan and South Korea, felt a bit tired after the busy schedule but fortunately there would be little travelling problems of playing at home so that he could save some energy. His form was also getting better with the help of world number six Anders Antonsen, who came to Hong Kong last week to train with the home team.
“It’s great to have the opportunity of training with such a high quality player and I know my form has been improving, hopefully I can do a good job this time,” Ng said. Although Antonsen is also from Denmark, same as Axelsen, the two players are of different style and training with Antonsen, according to Ng, did help his preparation.
Ng said his draws in the last two home tournaments were never ideal, first playing against finalist Anthony Ginting before meeting Jonatan Christie last year, the eventual champion and this year he will have to take on the newly crowned Olympic champion in the first round.
“This will be Axelsen’s first match after winning the Paris Olympics and he should have great confidence in himself,” Ng said. “But still, I can have the opportunity of taking on the hottest player of the moment and let’s see how much I can do.”
It will probably be the last time the home tournament to play at the Coliseum with the chance of moving it to the newly open Kai Tak Sports Park next year. Ng said he would treasure the opportunity, especially against the Olympic champion.
Following an update of the draw, Lee Cheuk Yiu will now meet Lu Guang Ju of China in his opening match. Both players clashed in the semi-finals of last month’s Korea Open with Lu coming from behind to beat Lee 2-1. Gunawan will now start in the main draw and will meet Kenta Nishimoto of Japan.
MIXED DOUBLES pair Tang Chun Man/Tse Ying Suet captured a silver medal at last month’s Japan Open, opting out the following Korea and Taipei Opens to focus on the home tournament. “Our physical condition is now better as the training intensity is not as demanding as the pre-Olympic period and the body can adjust gradually,” they said. The pair has already said it would be their last chance of playing together at home and Tang said the target would be ‘winning as many matches as possible”. “This will be our last home tournament. Our goal is to win as many matches as possible and enjoy every match,” Tang said. Tse said they were relieved after capturing a medal at the last Hong Kong Open and therefore they won’t have any pressure of winning something at home. “We won’t set any medal target as we already did it last year,” Tse said. “We just want to perform our best in each match, try to stay in the tournament as much longer as possible so that the fans can watch our performance more.”
Tse was a bit worry about the wind currents of the venue. Although she did practise a few days there, she always found it difficult to handle as they also needed to adapt to the shuttlecock provided by a new supplier. After the update draw, the home favourites will meet Wang Chi Lin and Hsu Yin Hui of Chinese Taipei in the first round. Wang clinched a gold medal in the MEN’S DOUBLES with Lee Yang at the Paris Olympics.
Another Hong Kong, China MIXED DOUBLES pair, Lee Chun Hei Reginald/Ng Tsz Yau last played in the Australian Open in June when they lost to compatriots Tang and Tse in the quarterfinals. They said it had been a long time since they had no tournament for such a long period. The pair will meet Wong Tien Ci and Lim Chiew Sien of Malaysia in the first round. “It’s not a bad draw but you never know until you play the first match,” Lee said. “It has been a long time since we last played and nothing is certain but all I can say is our form is not too bad during training.”
It will be the first Hong Kong Open for WOMEN’S SINGLES player Lo Sin Yan Happy, who will have a lot to learn when making her debut in the Coliseum. “The wind current needs to be handled well and adapt to it as quick as possible,” the Paris Olympian said. “But I am very eager to play my first Hong Kong Open.”
Lo was eliminated after the group stage in the Olympic Games as it was a great learning experience for the youngster. After the Paris Games, she started in two open tournaments, giving her sufficient preparations for the home event. “I hope I can do a good job, play a good tournament regardless how much support I can get from the home fans,” she said.
Lo will face a qualifier in the first round and although she beat top player Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in last month’s Korea Open, she said the result had given her pressure. “You don’t have to think too much against a top player like Yamaguchi but it will be a different story against a player of the same level as it’s always much more difficult. But this is also what I need to learn in my career.”
The BAHKC held a number of meetings today, including the team managers meeting and the technical official meeting chaired by tournament’s Referee Eric Lissillour of France and also an umpire workshop led by BWF umpire assessors that has benefited local umpires and umpires from all over the world.
At the welcoming dinner, almost 300 players and officials from 20 countries and regions join the party for a memorable night that also included breaking show and performance of Athlution, a musical band formed by Hong Kong, China athletes.
Tickets are now available in URBTIX. For details, please visit the official website of the LI-NING Hong Kong Open Badminton Championships www.hkopenbadminton.org or contact the Badminton Association of Hong Kong, China at 2504 8318.
