BWF SUPER SERIES FINALS – Round Robin Review

The 2015 season is almost over, and it’s time to show the class of the Badminton world. BWF Super Series Finals in Dubai is one of the costliest tournaments to be organized in the sports world. From living in a 7 star hotel to eating at lavish buffets, the tournament promises all the lavishes money can buy. But it’s only the top 8 players from each category that qualify for this tournament .

The tournament starts with the round robin matches , with only 2 players/teams from each group making the cut for the next round. There are two groups in each category comprising 4 players/teams.  Today marks the starting of the Semi-Finals. Aren’t we all excited to know who shone and who failed in the round robin matches? Here is a quick brief :

Group A was a surprise package, with the reigning World Champions Zhang Nan and Zhao Yun Lei from China withdrawing after playing 2 matches due to a leg strain with the latter. The married couple from England, Chris and Gabby Adcock topped the group, after winning 2 out of the 3 matches . Ahmad and Natsir failed to make the cut, as the underdogs  Lee and Chau qualified along with the English pair .

Group B wasn’t far behind when it came to upsets . The group top seeds Liu and Bao registered only one win which wasn’t enough to take them through . The popular Danish pairing of Pedersen and Fischer ended their disappointing tournament in which they failed to register even a single win against the group winners KO and KIM from Korea .  Jordan and Susanto from Indonesia qualified as the group Runner’s up.

In Group A, it was the Top Seeds Lee and Yoo from Korea setting things on fire and continuing their impressive form this season by winning all their matches. It was the 2014 World Champions Ahsan and Setiwan from Indonesia who finised second .

Group B  proved a stern test for the pairing of Boe and Morgensen from Denmark , who spent close to an hour on court in all of their 3 matches. But they showed their class and experience by winning all 3. It was Chai and Hong from China who grabbed the second spot from beneath the noses of the Danish team Meds and Kolding  on the 3 day , who were on their way to their first Super Series Finals Semis .

In Group A , it was the World No. 3s Matsutomo and Takahashi from Japan who stomped their authority on the Group by winning all their matches. The top seeds from China LUO and LUO qualified as the Runner’s up. They suffered a shock defeat to the the Japanese duo on the third day after showing promising signs on the first 2 days .

Group B , marked the Chinese duo of Tian and Zhao withdrawing after playing two matches, after Zhao suffered a leg strain. It was the experienced pairing of Polii and Maheshwari from Indonesia who won the group, Pedersen and Juhl notching up two victories to follow them into the Semis.

Group A, turned out to be the most exciting group in the whole tournament with three players tied for the second spot. It was Okuhara from Japan who destroyed her opponents and perhaps showed her best performances of the season, as she not only won the group but also didn’t lose a single game. It was Carolina Marin who qualified on the better point ratio into the Semis.

It was not the tournament Saina Nehwal expected it to be . Slow footwork and erratic approach made the base for her downfall. The foot injury she suffered during the course of the season started to take its toll on her and her movements became slow. But it wasn’t all bad for her, as she won against the Current World No.1 Carolina Marin in 3 tough sets 23-21 9-21 21-12 .

In group B, it was World No. 3 Wang Yihan from China who won the group after winning 2 out of a possible 3 matches. It was a tie for the first spot as Ratchanok from Thailand made it 2 wins on the third day . But Wang Yihan won the group on head to head rule .

Group A , was the group in which the seeds prevailed and there were no upsets. It was Chen Long who won the group rather easily, without dropping a single game. Jan Jorgensen also booked his place after winning 2 out of 3 matches.

Group B , was very disappointing for the Indian fans, as SRIKANTH failed to register even a single win and not only that, he failed to win even a single game. With the Olympics round the corner it was an eye opener for Srikanth. It was Kento Momota and Viktor Axelesen won booked their places with 3 and 2 wins respectively.

The Semis are the most exciting part of the tournament and with the BWF Super Series Winner prize up for grabs , we can expect some great matches . So keep following and Smash hard!