The Asian IBF results from Denmark have now been tabulated and the participant field is set for the 2002 JVC Asian Badminton Championships in Bangkok this week.  World and Asian top ten ranked players have secured their place among the top seeds at the event and have qualified to win the USD 1,000 prize from the JVC Asian Rankings.  In the Men’s Doubles and and Ladies’ Singles fields, #1 world ranked pkayers have qualified for Asia’s #1 seed and will fight to prove themselves worthy this week.

Men’s Singles – #1 Xia Xuanze, China
The current JVC Asian Men’s Singles Champion, Xia Xuanze, comes through as the top seed at the 2002 event as well.  However, the hottest player in the field would have to be #2 ranked Chen Ho ng.  Champion at last week’s Danishand runner up at the Indonesia Hong will be among the top players in Men’s singles this year.  Thailand’s 5th seeded Boonsak Polsana will be the host country’s main threat playing in front of his home crowd, while Indonesiachampion, Taufik Hidayat, ranked 4th here, will also be a strong contender for the Championship.

Ladies’ Singles - #1 Zhao Mi, China
On the Ladies’ Singles side, Zhao Mi of China will take home the JVC Asian Rankings prize as the top seed.  Zho has dominated the Ladies’ Singles scene this year with titles in Japan and Singapore.   Zhou Mi is currently #1 in the world which is well deserved after her consistent late-round finishes in all events she enters.   Her main competition in this event will come against 2001 Champ and #3 seed, Zhang Ning of China, who is also this year’s IndonesiaChampion.  Wang Chen, #2 seed from Hongkong and 2001 JVC ABC finalist, will also provide stiff competition for the Chinese players.

Men’s Doubles - #1 Kim Dong Moon/Ha Tae Kwon, Korea
Since the separation of Tony Gunaway/Candra Wijaya earlier this year, only 1 team has dominated the Men’s Doubles category:  Ha Tae Kwon and Kim Dong Moon of Korea.  This year, they have won no fewer than 5 titles including the Asian Games Gold Medal.  Their compatriots, Lee Dong Soo and Yoo Yong Sung, who are ranked 2nd at the JVC ABC this year will provide stiff competition, along with the Thai pair of Pramote/Tesana who are in the 3rd position.  Indonesians traditionally dominate men’s doubles and this year the 5th seeds, Candra Wijaya and Sigit Budiarjo are former World Champions who could challenge for the title.  

Ladies’ Doubles - #1 Gao Ling/Huang Sui, China
On the Ladies’ Doubles side, the top seed and JVC Asian Rankings prize goes to world #1 Chinese pair, Gao Ling/Huang Sui who have shown consistent play since their appearance in the 2001 World Championships through the 2002 season.  Gao and Huang were also the 2001 JVC Rankings winners and are the JVC ABC defending champions in Ladies’ Doubles.    This year’s victories include All England, Indonesiaand Asian Games Gold Medal.  Their stiffest competition will come against the Thai pair and 2002 Chinese Taipeichampions, Saralee Thungthongkam  and Sathinee Chankra.  The Thais will be inspired by their home crowd this week!

Mixed Doubles’ - #1 Khunakorn Sudhisodhi/Saralee Thungthongkam, Thailand
Kunakorn Sudhisodhi and his partner Saralee Thungthongkam take the title in the Mixed Doubles category.  This marks the first time that a Thai pair has won a JVC Rankings title.  The timing is right as this year’s event is played in Bangkok!  Their chief competition will come against Indonesian seeds #2 and #3, Nova Widianto/Vita Marissa and Trikkus Heryanto/Emma Ermawati.

The JVC Asian Badminton Rankings act as a mechanism for developing the seedings at the annual JVC Asian Badminton Championships.  Top seeds this year will receive a prize of USD 1,000 from JVC.  These prizes will be given out at the JVC Asian Badminton Championships to all players finishing in the highest position on the JVC Asian Rankings and competing in the event therefore qualifying them as the #1 seeded players at the JVC Asian Badminton Championships.

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JVC Asian Badminton Rankings are collected from the IBF’s world rankings released weekly.

Issued by International Management Group, Jakarta on behalf of the Asian Badminton Confederation.  If you require more information, please contact Mr. Jimmy Heosontaty 17/3 Soi Metinivej Sukhumvit 24 Road, Klong Ton, Klong Toey Bangkok 10110 Thailand; Tel:  +662-661-0322;  Fax:  +662-661-0321; e-mail:  jheosontaty.