Dubai BWF Finals: The Eight Best Men

Here’s the list of qualified players for the badminton World Superseries Finals with brief biographies of the singles entrants in the men's event.

Published : Dec 10, 2017 13:25 IST

Photo: AFP

Country: Denmark Age: 23 years World ranking: 1 Win-Loss record in 2017: 32-9 The World No.1 and World champion took the final spot to Dubai to defend the title, without needing exemption. After winning the India Open, he went on to add the World title by beating Lin Dan and captured the Japan Open by stopping Lee Chong Wei. He remains among the title-contenders.

Photo: AFP

Country: Malaysia Age: 35 years World ranking: 2 Win-Loss record in 2017: 28-8 The most successful tournament player in contemporary world badminton won the recent Hong Kong Open by beating Son Wan Ho and Chen Long. The veteran right-hander and the reigning All-England champion showed he had lost none of the fire of old. He should be a serious contender to the title in Dubai.

Photo: AFP

Country: China Age: 28 years World ranking: 3 Win-Loss record in 2017: 35-8 The Olympic gold medallist and former World champion bounced back in the last two events to make the ‘cut’ for Dubai. He won the China Open and lost the final of Hong Kong Open to jump from the 20th spot to the seventh. His chances cannot be written off.

Photo: AP

Country: India Age: 24 years World ranking: 4 Win-Loss record in 2017: 37-8 This right-hander reached his career-best ranking of No. 2 in November this year. He won four Superseries titles — two successive titles twice in the season-including the three richest prize-money events on the BWF calendar. Notably, he defeated Viktor Axelsen after the Dane won the World title this year. He conquered Olympic Champion Chen Long to win the Australian Open.

Photo: AFP

Country: South Korea Age: 29. World ranking: 5 Win-Loss record in 2017: 35-16 This right-hander was ranked No. 1 in the world for the first time on September 21, 2017 during a year when he did not win a single title! With K. Srikanth missing the last two events of the year, he displaced the Indian at the top of the rankings. The winner of the 2012 India Open has come a long way.

Photo: AFP

Country: Chinese Taipei Age: 27 years World ranking: 7 Win-Loss record in 2017: 35-17 Triumphed in the Chinese Taipei Open at home, where none of the leading players participated, and this helped this right-hander to be ranked among the elite. He reached his career-high ranking of No. 4 in August this year. He lost the 2017 India Open final to Viktor Axelsen.

Photo: AFP

Country: China Age: 21 years World ranking: 8 Win-Loss record in 2017: 32-14 Considered the strongest Chinese after Chen Long, this right-hander rose to a career-high ranking of No. 2 in August this year. Like Son Wan Ho, he remained without a Superseries title this year. He defeated his legendary compatriot Lin Dan in the Hong Kong Open.

Photo: AFP

Country: Hong Kong Age: 23 years World ranking: 9 Win-Loss record in 2017: 27-16 This right-hander reached his best ranking of No. 6 in August his year. Without a title in 2017, he enjoyed the high-point of his young career by beating Lee Chong Wei in the China Open. He is not a contender but a dangerous floater in the group.

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