Dubai: In the absence of Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei, Chen Long of China took over the top spot in the official BWF Destination Dubai Rankings with 68,260 points this season, earning the right to lead a field that also includes Jan O Jorgensen, Son Wan Ho, Kento Momota, Kenichi Tago, K Srikanth, Hans-Kristian Vittinghus and Tommy Sugiarto.
Looking forward to performing in Dubai and regaining the title, Chen said: “For all of us, as players, we are obviously looking forward to our duels there, but I personally feel we must also remember that it’s not just the outcome of the game that is very important but also the process.
In women’s singles, 19-year-old prodigy Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand, who made history in 2013 by becoming the youngest female badminton world champion ever, believes the upcoming Dubai World Superseries Finals will rank as one of the toughest tournaments this year.
Only the highest-ranked eight shuttlers in the world have qualified for the seventh edition of the Superseries Finals, which will be staged at the Hamdan Sports Complex from December 17-21.
“I must fight hard from the start. I want to do well as I did not qualify for the Finals last year, so I’m happy to be in the top eight this year and I want to perform my best.”
Earlier this year, she became the first recipient of the Fox Sports Asian Sporting Icon award, and will be one of the star players to watch out for at the Hamdan Sports Complex.
