For immediate release from SKYCITY NZ Badminton Open

9 March 2016

For immediate release from SKYCITY NZ Badminton Open

CHINA SENDS STRONG, YOUNG TEAM TO SKYCITY NZ OPEN

China will send a largely youthful but strong team to the SKYCITY New Zealand Badminton Open later this month, with a number of players backing up from impressive performances at the 2015 event.

Men’s singles runner up Qiao Bin returns to Auckland with his ranking at an all-time high of 49 in the world. 23 year old Bin went on to feature in the quarter-finals at the Thailand Open last year and has already progressed to the same stage of the Malaysia Masters in 2016.

Look out also for an even younger star on the rise in 18 year old Lin Guipu, who made the round of 16 last year. He typifies the danger of the Chinese team, ranked 98 in the world and unseeded, he does already however have a victory at the 2016 China International Challenge and was a quarter finalist at the 2015 Bonny China Masters events.

2015 SKYCITY New Zealand Open Men’s doubles winners Zheng Siwei (19 years old) and Huang Kaixiang (20) will partner up again in defence of their title. They also put their names on the men’s doubles trophy at the Brazil Open in 2015 and are emerging as a world class pairing. The youngsters will be seeded at 8 for the 2016 event.

Event Director Julie Carrel says the Chinese are always popular visitors and with the young age of many in the team, they can be dangerous opponents through the draw.

“China has long been one of the powerhouse nations in world badminton, they continue to produce brilliant players and combinations and do so in great numbers. Much of this group coming to the SKYCITY Open are young and tracking towards the Tokyo Olympic Games. As a result they don’t always have a great deal of experience on the BWF circuit and come unseeded, making them dangerous opponents for higher ranked players, especially early in the tournament. This was highlighted last year with the progress that many of them made deep into the tournament.”

On the women’s side it may well be 18 year old Chen Yufei who is the one to watch in the singles competition. For a player of such a young age she already has experience deep into high quality tournaments, finishing runner-up at the Indonesian Masters and making the semi-finals of the Bonny China Masters in 2015.

Carrel warns for opponents of the Chinese team not to take them lightly based on their young years.

“Chinese players are always superbly coached and typically bring a mental strength that few others can match. They are students of the game, knowing its history but also knowing how to overcome opponents in different ways and how to get through tough patches in games. The coaching staff with this group are hugely experienced as players, many of them are world or Olympic medal winners and impart all their experience and tactical knowledge on to the current generation of players.”

Indeed the team is accompanied by badminton royalty in the coaching ranks, led by two time Olympic women’s singles champion Zhang Ning (the only player to win consecutive singles gold medals). Ning won gold in Athens and Beijing and was also crowned women’s singles World Champion in 2003.

Chinese Team – Players to Watch

Shi Yuqi – Men’s Singles Player (Ranking as of 03/03/16 – 67, best 66)

• 20 years old.

• Runner-up: World Junior Championships 2014.

• Semi-finalist: Syed Modi International Badminton Championships 2016.

• Quarter-finalist: China Open 2015.

Qiao Bin – Men’s Singles (Ranking as of 03/03/16 – 49, best 49)

• 23 year old.

• Runner-up: SKYCITY NZ Open 2015.

• Quarter-finalist: Malaysia Masters 2016, Thailand Open 2015.

Huang Yuxiang – Men’s Singles (Ranking as of 03/03/16 – 51, best 51)

• 23 year old.

• Runner-up: Syed Modi International Badminton Championships 2016, China Masters 2015.

Lin Guipu – Men’s Singles (Ranking as of 03/03/16 – 98, best 94)

• 18 years old.

• Won: China International Challenge 2016, BWF World Junior Championships 2014.

• Quarter-finalist: Bonny China Masters 2015.

• Round of 16: SKYCITY NZ Open 2015.

Zheng Siwei – Men’s doubles, mixed doubles (Ranking as of 03/03/16 – MD 60, best 59, XD 45, best 25)

• 19 years old.

• MD – Won: Brasil Open 2015, SKYCITY NZ Open 2015 with Huang Kaixiang and BWF World Junior Championships 2015 with He Jiting.

• XD – Won: BWF World Junior Championships 2015, Thailand Masters 2016, Brasil Open 2015, SKYCITY NZ Open 2015 with Qingchen Chen.

Huang Kaixiang – Men’s doubles, mixed doubles (Ranking as of 03/03/16 – MD 60 best 59, XD 30, best 18)

• 20 years old.

• MD – Won: Brasil Open 2015, SKYCITY NZ Open 2015 with Zheng Siwei.

• XD – Won: Vietnam Open 2015 and US Open 2015 with Huang Dongping.

• XD – Round of 16: SKYCITY NZ Open 2015 with Qianxin Zhong.

He Jiting – Men’s doubles, mixed doubles (Ranking as of 03/03/16 – MD 218, best 205, XD 163, best 163)

• 18 years old.

• MD – Won: BWF World Junior Championships 2015 with Zheng Siwei.

• MD – Round of 16 Syed Modi International Badminton Championships 2016 with Tan Qiang and SKYCITY NZ Open 2015 with Yu Xiaoyu.

• XD – Round of 16: Syed Modi International Badminton Championships 2016, Bonny China Masters 2015 Du Yue.

• XD – Round of 32: SKYCITY NZ Open 2015 with Yifan Jia.

Tan Qiang – Men’s doubles (Ranking as of 03/03/16 – 218, best 213)

• 17 years old.

• Round of 16: Syed Modi International Badminton Championships 2016, with He Jiting.

Han Chengkai – Men’s doubles and mixed doubles (Ranking as of 03/03/16 – MD 212, best 207, XD 219, best 219)

• 18 years old.

• MD – Quarter-finalist: China International Challenge 2016.

• XD – Quarter-finalist: China International Challenge 2016, Thailand Open 2015.

Haodong Zhou – Men’s doubles (Ranking as of 03/03/16 – MD 212, best 207, XD 305, best 295)

• 18 years old.

• MD – Quarter-finalist – China International Challenge 2016.

• XD – Runner-up – China International Challenge 2016, with Yifan Jia.

Chen Yufei – Women’s singles (Ranking as of 03/03/16 – 44, best 44)

• 18 years old.

• Runner-up – Indonesian Master 2015.

• Semi-finalist – Bonny China Masters 2015.

Gao Fangjie – Women’s singles (Ranking as of 03/03/16 – 194, best 191)

• 17 years old.

• Runner-up – China International Challenge 2016.

Hui Xirui – Women’s singles (Ranking as of 03/03/16 – 156, best 36)

• 22 years old.

• Won – China International Challenge 2016.

• Runner-up – Bonny China Masters 2015.

Zhong Qianxin – Women’s and mixed doubles (Ranking as of 03/03/16 – WD 51, best 2, XD 354, best 189)

• 26 year old.

• WD – Won: 2015 SKYCITY NZ Open with Huan Xia and 2015 China Masters with Jinhua Tang.

• XD – Round 16: SKYCITY NZ Open with Kaixiang Huang.

Huang Dongping – Women’s and mixed doubles (Ranking as of 03/03/16 – MD 125, best 81, XD 30, best 18)

• 21 years old.

• WD – Won: Thailand Open 2015 with Yinhui Li and quarter-finalist China Open 2015 with Dongni Ou.

• XD – Won: Yonex-Sunrise Vietnam Open 2015, Yonex Suffolk County Community College US Open 2015.

Du Yue – Women’s and mixed doubles (Ranking as of 03/03/16 – WD 103, best 103, XD 163, best 163)

• 18 years old.

• WD – Semi-finalist: Malaysia Masters 2015.

• XD – Round of 16: Bonny China Masters 2015, Syed Modi International Badminton Championships 2016.

Xu Ya – Women’s and mixed doubles (Ranking as of 03/03/16 – WD 253, best 215, XD 422, best 421)

• 18 years old.

• WD – Runner-up: China International Challenge 2016.

• XD – Quarter-finalist: China International Challenge 2016.

Li Yinhui – Women’s and mixed doubles (Ranking as of 03/03/16 – WD 103, best 103, XD 117, best 114)

• 19 years old.

• WD – Won: Thailand Open 2015, semi-finalist: Malaysia Masters 2015.

• XD – Won: Malaysia Masters 2016, semi-finalist Macau Open 2015.

Coaches

Chen Yu
35 years old.

Chen won men's singles at the Chinese National Championships in 2002 and 2003. On the international badminton circuit he won the 2006 Thailand Open by defeating two fellow countrymen (and two fellow "Chens"), Chen Hong in the semi-finals, and Chen Jin in a very close final. Yu has been runner-up in the Denmark (2003, 2006), Singapore (2003, 2007), and German Opens (2007), and at the prestigious All-England Championships in 2007.

Zhang Ning
40 years old.

Ning won the Olympic gold medal twice for women's singles in both 2004 and 2008. She has played badminton on the world scene since the mid-1990s and has been particularly successful since 2002 while in her late twenties and early thirties, relatively late for singles at the highest level, and especially for top players in the Chinese system who are developed very early. She was known for her consistency of shot, deception and constant pressure, dictating the pace of rallies and working her opponents in all four corners of the court. She is the only female player to win consecutive Olympic singles gold medals.

Guo Zhengdong
31 years old.

A men's doubles specialist, Guo has played on the world circuit since 2005, mainly in partnership with Xie Zhongbo. They have won the 2004 Polish Open, the 2005 China Masters and the 2008 India Open titles together, and Guo won the Austrian International title in 2007 with He Hanbin. Guo and Xie were quarterfinalists at the 2007 BWF World Championships. At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing they lost a tight round of 16 duel to the eventual gold medalists, Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia.

World Championships

• Bronze 2010 Paris Men's doubles

Xie Zonghbo
32 years old.

A doubles specialist on the world circuit, Xie has regularly partnered Guo Zhendong in men's doubles and Zhang Yawen in mixed doubles over the past several years. Xie and Guo have won the Polish Open (2004), the China Masters (2005), and the India Open (2008) together. They were quarter-finalists at 2007 BWF World Championships, and at the 2008 Beijing Olympics narrowly lost to the eventual gold medalists, Indonesia's Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan, in the round of sixteen.

Xie has had greater success in mixed doubles. He and Zhang have captured eight titles internationally since the beginning of 2005. They were silver medalists at the 2005 IBF World Championships, losing the gold to Indonesia's Nova Widianto and Lilyana Natsir, and were bronze medalists at the 2007 edition of the tournament.

World Championships

• Silver Mixed doubles 2005 Anaheim, CA, USA

• Bronze Mixed doubles 2007 Kuala Lumpur, MAS

Other International Championships

• 1 Mixed doubles 2008 Hong Kong Open

• 1 Mixed doubles 2008 China Masters

• 1 Mixed doubles 2008 Thailand Open

• 1 Men's doubles 2008 India Open

• 1 Mixed doubles 2007 Macau Open

• 1 Mixed doubles 2006 China Open

• 1 Mixed doubles 2006 Indonesia Open

• 1 Mixed doubles 2006 China Masters

• 1 Mixed doubles 2005 Hong Kong Open

• 1 Men's doubles 2005 China Masters

• 1 Mixed doubles 2004 French Open

• 1 Men's doubles 2004 Polish Open

Tickets can be bought online www.nzbadmintonopen.com or at the door, with prices from as little as $5 for an adult and $1 for a child through the early rounds through to equally family friendly pricing for finals action, including options of 6-day tournament passes and hospitality packages for courtside comfort and the best views in the house.

The SKYCITY New Zealand Open semi-finals and finals are covered live on SKYSPORT in New Zealand and broadcast around the world through the IMG network.

SKYCITY NZ Badminton Open
North Shore Events Centre
Event schedule:
Tuesday 22 March - qualifying rounds, first round Men’s Singles main draw
Wednesday 23, Thursday 24 March - preliminary rounds all events
Friday 25 March - GOOD FRIDAY - Quarter-finals
Saturday 26 March - Semi-finals
Sunday 27 March – Finals

Tickets and further information at www.nzbadmintonopen.com

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