BADMINTON Preview: Three Rio champs in Fuzhou China Open

A strong field has assembled for the Fuzhou China Open, a tournament previously known as the China Masters. The top entries (and current world rankings):

∙ Men’s Singles:
1. Kento Momota (JPN: 1)
2. Yuqi Shi (CHN: 2)

∙ Men’s Doubles:
1. Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (INA: 1)
2. Junhui Li/Yuchen Liu (CHN: 2)

∙ Women’s Singles:
1. Akane Yamaguchi (JPN: 2)
2. P.V. Sindhu (IND: 3)

∙ Women’s Doubles:
1. Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota (JPN: 1)
2. Misaki Matsumoto/Ayaka Takahashi (JPN: 2)

∙ Mixed Doubles:
1. Siwei Zhang/Yaqiong Huang (CHN: 1)
2. Yilu Wang/Dongping Huang (CHN: 2)

It’s worth noting the presence of Rio Olympic champs Long Chen (CHN) and Carolina Marin (ESP) in the men’s and women’s draws, even though they are not in the top two, plus women’s Doubles stars Matsumoto and Takahashi. Also returning are three 2017 winners: women’s Singles champ Ohori Aya (JPN), men’s Doubles winners Hung-Ling Chen/Chi-Lin Wang (TPE) and Mixed Doubles winners Wang and Huang from China.

Prize money in this $700,000 tournament is excellent, with Singles payouts of $$49,000-23,800-9,800 (x2) for the top four places and on down to $700 for the losers in the Round of 64. For Doubles, the winners get $51,800, then $24,500 and $9,800 for the semifinalists and on down to $700.

Look for results here.