Badminton Blues: China’s Men’s Singles Struggles at Denmark Open

Ah, the Denmark Badminton Open, where shuttlecocks fly and so do dreams—quite literally for some of the Chinese men’s singles players who seem to have misplaced theirs. If you haven’t heard already, the Danish badminton extravaganza wrapped up its individual semi-finals earlier today, and let’s just say, the Chinese badminton team’s performance was a mixed bag. Well, it’s mostly a bag of mixed doubles gold, followed by a sad little empty space where the men’s singles should be. Someone get these players a map because it seems they are lost—spiritually, if not physically!

“The only thing missing from the men’s singles is… well, the players!”

In an Olympic cycle that’s supposedly building up to greatness, we find ourselves peering through the looking glass and what do we see? A glaring hole in men’s singles. The only young talent anyone can find seems to have a talent for vanished acts, as they haven’t exactly been lighting up the courts. Meanwhile, Chen Yufei is doing the badminton equivalent of hibernating, and Shi Yuqi’s competitive form is about as high as my expectations for finding a decent cup of tea in a cheap diner. Spoiler alert: it’s not good!

But never fear, it’s not all doom and gloom. The mixed doubles team, Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping, are shining brighter than a disco ball at a 70s party, having already claimed the mixed doubles gold! Meanwhile, Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang managed to cobble together a performance to make it to the final of the men’s doubles, perhaps taking a break from their own existential crises to show us that not all is lost.

It’s a bit ironic, though, isn’t it? The men’s doubles team had a rocky comeback after the Olympics, and yet here they are, teetering on the edge of greatness—let’s hope they can tip over the right way! “Come on lads, just a little more power, and you can do it!”

But let’s get to the crux of the issue: What’s going on with men’s singles? The only player who didn’t make it out of the compact cardboard box that is preliminary rounds was Lei Lanxi. A genius escape artist if you will, but his magic act left much to be desired. As for Lu Guangzu, Li Shifeng, and Weng Hongyang—they all clocked in at an early exit, like used lottery tickets—unfortunately, none were winners that day!

Li Shifeng, bless his heart, had a moment in the limelight before it all came crashing down faster than a poorly made IKEA bookshelf. He may have let his emotions get the best of him, culminating in throwing his racket and earnestly begging to be red-carded—because who doesn’t love a little drama on the court? Perhaps if he channeled that energy into his game, we wouldn’t be having this chat. But alas, here we are, with more questions than answers.

Wang Zhiyi, on the other hand, stands poised in the women’s singles final, trying to prove she’s got what it takes to replace the retired legends. Now that’s a weighty task worthy of a grand Shakespearean tragedy. Can she really shine, where the others have stumbled? One hopes that fortune favors the bold—who knows, she might just rescue the day from the abyss of despair left by the men’s singles!

“In the realm of badminton, it seems men’s singles need a good fairy godmother!”

The takeaway here? The Chinese badminton team is cooking up some delicious doubles dishes, but the men’s singles section is as empty as a defeated poker player’s wallet. Maybe it’s time to shake things up, recruit some fresh young talent, or perhaps borrow a couple of players from the women’s side. You know, just to keep it interesting! Until then, we’ll keep our eyes peeled and our rackets at the ready, cheering on our doubles darlings and hoping for a miraculous revival of men’s singles. After all, in the game of badminton, the show must go on!

As we wrap up, let us raise a racquet and toast to the players for their efforts, and perhaps send a few ‘get well soon’ cards to the men’s singles squad! Here’s hoping for a glorious comeback worthy of an epic badminton renaissance!

In the early morning of October 20th, Beijing time, the Denmark Badminton Open ended the competition for all five individual semi-finals. The Chinese badminton team has players reaching the finals in four individual events, and even won the mixed doubles gold medal in advance. Only in the men’s singles event, no one advanced to the finals, and even among the semi-finals, it was difficult to find Chinese players. It seems that in this Olympic cycle, the weakest link in national badminton is still men’s singles. At least for now, there are no young players with particularly outstanding strength and huge potential.

The Danish Badminton Open is the Badminton World Federation’s highest-level tour event (level 750) before the year-end finals. Among the national badminton players, Chen Yufei has been in a state of point protection and has been difficult to come back in the near future. Shi Yuqi has always been in poor competitive form since the Paris Olympics and has a poor spirit. The condition and injuries on the body are not optimistic. It is difficult for Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan in women’s doubles to reunite. “Yasi” is the oldest pair among the mixed doubles pairs who should rest and adjust. These players may Each team’s absence has its own objective reasons. It can be said that Guoyu sent the strongest athletes it could to compete in Denmark.

Feng Yanzhe/Huang Dongping, Jiang Zhenbang/Wei Yaxin will meet in the mixed doubles final. The national feather team won the mixed doubles championship ahead of schedule. This event is still the strongest among the five individual events and has remained unchanged for several Olympic cycles. The two sides in the men’s doubles final are Liang Weikeng/Wang Chang and the host players Astrup/Rasmussen.

After the Paris Olympics, the Liang Wang duo chose to come back at the China Open and missed three tour events. Until the Arctic Race (Super 500) in Vantaa, Finland last week, the Olympic runner-up pair failed to find their peak feeling. This time in Denmark, the two finally reached the final. They haven’t won a championship for a long time. I hope that China’s best men’s doubles team can win this championship and consolidate their ranking as the world’s number one.

The national badminton players participating in the women’s doubles final were the Paris Olympics silver medal pair Liu Shengshu/Tan Ning. The two repeated the scene in the Paris Olympics women’s doubles semifinals in the semifinals, eliminating Japan’s Chihiro Shida/Nami Matsuyama, Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning. The opponent in the final is still the Japanese combination, Suzu Iwanaga/Takaei Nakanishi. In the women’s singles final, Wang Zhiyi will face off against Olympic champion An Xiying, who has returned to the competition after a few months’ hiatus. In order to prove that she can take over as the number one player in the national badminton women’s singles, Wang Zhiyi will prove herself with victory.

The only event in which Guoyu has not reached the semi-finals is the men’s singles. All participating players have been eliminated. Among them, Lei Lanxi stopped in the first round. Lu Guangzu, Li Shifeng and Weng Hongyang were all eliminated in the quarterfinals. Li Shifeng is still in the 1st round with Antonsen. /4 In the final, he lost his composure and failed to control his emotions. He was suspected of deliberately delaying the game and throwing his racket after the game, which caused strong dissatisfaction and boos from the audience. He was shown a red card by the referee and will also face an additional fine of US$500 from the Badminton World Federation. After winning the men’s singles championship at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, Li Shifeng has not made any more breakthroughs. He is also the only player born after 2000 among the participating national badminton players. The prospect of the national badminton men’s singles is worrying.

Text/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Liu Ailin

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