It may have only been a few seeds that crashed out today, but the significance of the names have changed several of the draws appearance. New world number 1 Wang Shixian crashed out as well as Taufik Hidayat in what could be his last tournament as a Super Series seeded player.
Taufik Crashes Out
It has been an all too similar story this year for Hidayat, another early exit from a Super Series but the manner of his defeat as well as the opponent signals a change in the guard of Indonesian badminton. His 21-15, 21-10 loss to Simon Santoso could be the last time Taufik Hidayat is ranked above Santoso, with just two places separating the pair at the start of the week and Santoso’s reward is a quarter final match against Peter Gade, who defeated Du Pengyu in his second round match. Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan both progressed safely into the last 8, as did Chen Long and Chen Jin who now face each other for a place in the semi finals on Saturday.
Wang Shixian and Tine Baun Out
The weight of China was on Wang Shixian’s shoulders once more, and once more an early exit has been the result. A second round defeat to Inthanon Ratchanok again asks questions over Wang Shixian’s ability to cope with the added pressure of being world number 1. It was one of just two defeats for the Chinese squad that could have had as many as 7 of the last 8 in the women’s singles. Han Li lost out to Petya Nedelcheva whilst Yao Xue ended the run of the 7th seeded Tine Baun with a three game victory and a quarter final against the 3rd seeded Wang Xin.
Business As Usual For Top Seeds In Doubles
It is yet another tournament with the same names looking likely to meet in the final, with Cai and Fu looking ever the more likely to take on Lee and Jung for the fourth Super Series event running, with the 2nd seeded Korean’s coming through a scare against Liu and Qiu to reach the last 8. The women’s doubles looks like an all-Chinese affair for the 4th time also, as Wang and Yu look set to meet Tian and Zhao after both pairs won their opening matches today. Whilst in the mixed doubles there was a surprise as the 2nd seeded Xu and Ma crashed out to Chan and Goh of Malaysia, allowing the 3rd seeded Danish pair of Fischer Neilsen and Pedersen a potentially easier route into Sunday’s final. Top seeded Zhang and Zhao had no trouble in reaching the last 8, where they take on Chen and Cheng of Chinese Taipei before a potential semi final clash with another Danish pair in Laybourn and Rytter Juhl, who defeated the 4th seeded Ahmad and Natsir in what was a successful day for the Danes in Shanghai.
