The badminton season is set to take off in full flight at the upcoming German Open (March 8-13) as most top shuttlers converge in Mulheim, also known as the “City on the River” to kick off their 2022 season this Tuesday.
While the tournament is only a Super 300 event usually void of the top 10 shuttlers, the prestigious All-England Open taking place next week presents the German Open as an ideal warm-up battleground.
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The men’s singles draw itself is a star-studded affair, with Viktor Axelsen, Kento Momota, Anthony Ginting and of course Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia in the fray as they bid to take home their first title of the year.
Lee has a first-round affair against Holland’s Mark Caljouw, and should he clear his first two hurdles, a potential quarter-finals showdown against third seeded Anders Antonsen is on the cards.
Lee did well at the recent Asia Team Championships to help the team clinch the title for the first time, but the level of competition at this event is much higher, and so it will be interesting to see how he copes since turning independent.
Malaysians would also be keen to see the progress of Ng Tze Yong, another young shuttler who is on a steady rise.
Ng takes on Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie without any pressure, as he gets a feel of playing the big boys.
In the men’s doubles, two Malaysian pairs are guaranteed a second round spot as Man Wei Chong-Kai Wun Tee play Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin, while Goh V Shem-Low Juan Shen are up against Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik.
Like Ng, Man-Kai are a formidable young pair who won three titles last year.
The pair were chosen to lead the men’s doubles at the upcoming SEA Games in May, so playing in a big event against their more experienced team-mates could be the inspiration needed for the multi-sport affair.
Pearly Tan-M.Thinaah are one of two Malaysian pairs represented in the women’s doubles and they should be expected to clear their first-round match against Julie Macpherson-Ciara Torrance.
The world number 15 pair are given heavy focus by new doubles chief Rexy Mainaky ahead of this tournament, with the Indonesian pushing the pair with extra drills when Stadium Astro visited the national training centre last week.
As the other women’s doubles pairs finished their morning session, Tan-Thinaah stayed on and were pushed to their limits, with both shuttlers on their knees after the grueling session had ended.
With the pair seen as the only ones capable of contending for titles, it is no wonder why Rexy intends to whip them into top shape.
Meanwhile, some of the mixed doubles pairings head to Germany with different motives.
For scratch pairing Ong Yew Sin-Goh Liu Ying, it is only about trying to discover if they can find the right chemistry to make an impact.
For Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Lai, it would be an opportunity to immediately translate what they have learnt in a six-week training stint in Indonesia under former men’s doubles maestro Chandra Wijaya.
The world number 13 pair had used their own funds for this stint, and are hoping it pays dividends as they seek to elevate their status to a top 10 pairing this year.
They face England’s Callum Hemming-Jessica Pugh in the first round.
