Rasmus Kjær and Frederik Søgaard of Denmark are aiming to solidify their path to the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2024 as the second-seeded men’s doubles pair enters the Hylo Open 2024. Currently ranked No.10 in the HSBC Race to Finals, they must secure a top-seven finish to qualify, with reigning Olympic champions Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin already guaranteed a spot in the finals among the top eight.
Kjær and Søgaard are trailing Man Wei Chong and Tee Kai Wun by 8,620 points, yet remain hopeful that strong performances at the Hylo Open and the last two qualifying events—the Kumamoto Masters Japan and Li-Ning China Masters—will help close the gap. Having reached two semifinals and two quarterfinals this season, they’re looking for another deep run in Saarbrücken to boost their standing.
Still, they face close competition. Pairs like Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik and Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi, both with fewer than 10 events on record, have the potential to gain points quickly and surpass the Danish duo. Kjær and Søgaard realize the importance of maximizing this limited opportunity.
Withdrawals
Alex Lanier (France), who has had an impressive season, is one of four players who have withdrawn from the men’s singles competition, alongside Arnaud Merkle (France), Markus Barth (Norway), and Fabio Caponio (Italy). In men’s doubles, Robert Cybulski/Szymon Slepecki of Poland withdrew, as did two pairs in mixed doubles: Robert Cybulski/Kornelia Marczak (Poland) and Nicolas Franconville/Aline Muller (Switzerland).
In this week’s neighboring Super 300 event, the Macau Badminton Open, Chinese Taipei (CT) impressively fielded 35 pairs across men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles categories. Out of the 12 women’s doubles pairs that competed in the main draw, five were from Taiwan, and three made it to the quarterfinals.
This means that Indian pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand managed to defeat two CT pairs in the past two days. However, they were knocked out in the semifinals by the third Taiwanese duo, Hsieh Pei Shan and Huang En-Tzu.
The Rise of Taipei’s Doubles Dominance
The athletes from East Asia, particularly from China, Taiwan, and Japan, have been quietly perfecting their skills in training over the past Olympic cycles. They enter tournaments in large numbers, advancing at an impressive speed while steadily climbing the rankings. The Taipei team, ranked 54th, might seem unthreatening when looking at the rankings, but this is misleading, as many of their athletes have been largely absent from the international stage until the start of the new Olympic cycle.
Many of these 35 players are either young athletes in their teens or early twenties, or second or third-tier players from Taipei’s “badminton factories.” Despite their lower world rankings, their technical skills and match levels can be formidable, especially when they compete as unseeded players.
A Tough Path for Treesa and Gayatri
At 21 years old, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand have already been on the circuit for three seasons, drawing significant attention. While they were the top-seeded pair in the Macau draw, winning their first Super 300 title was far from easy.
In the semifinals, they faced a more experienced Taipei pair, the 8th-seeded Hsieh Pei Shan and Huang En-Tzu, against whom they had already lost twice in the past three months. Interestingly, in Macau, PV Sindhu had won three consecutive titles and a World Championship bronze before making her mark at the Olympics, when the event was still considered a beginner-level competition.
This year, however, Taipei’s development teams, including the gold medal-winning men’s doubles pair Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin, have shone particularly brightly on the international stage.
Although none of the CT women’s doubles pairs are ranked in the world’s top 25, five pairs have suddenly surged into the top 35. Macau is one of the earliest examples of China and Chinese Taipei’s strategy to showcase their sheer numbers on the world stage. Given their foundational skill level, this is a concerning trend. These players are currently hidden somewhere on page three of the rankings, but their jumps in the rankings can be as large as 19 or 38 places as they chase smaller titles.
In contrast, a few of the top women’s doubles pairs from China, Korea, and Japan, ranked in the top 15, are gradually retiring or being reshuffled. Beneath the surface, a new wave of young talents is emerging, not just from mainland China but also from a resurgent Taipei, looking to break into the spotlight.
The Challenge for India’s Doubles Teams
Ranked 23rd, the Indian team is still grappling with some minor issues but faces a stiff challenge in terms of playing style—faster, more aggressive, and more powerful. China’s rising stars, like Liu Sheng Shu (20) and Tan Ning (21), currently ranked third in the world, have redefined the game, making it fiercer than ever before. Much like the competition in semiconductor innovation, what happens in China today likely happened in Taiwan yesterday, and the results will be seen in the coming months—badminton follows the same trend.
India has four mixed doubles pairs, and while they haven’t performed poorly, they have not made significant progress in breaking into the top 50 (with eight pairs within the top 100). However, Olympian Tanisha Crasto has been showing promise in the mixed doubles category, a format more suited to her style. The Panda sisters, Rituparna and Swetaparna, ranked 47th, along with Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra, ranked 50th, have made earnest attempts but haven’t progressed much on foreign soil. The Indian team needs to deliver standout performances to advance.
Moving Forward: Treesa and Gayatri’s Determination
As for the Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand duo, while they haven’t had a standout breakthrough in India, they will need to rise to the challenge of facing strong opponents and adapt to setbacks caused by injuries. To achieve their best, they must perform at the highest level against these powerhouse teams.
There’s no better way to conclude a career than by winning Olympic gold—Lee Yang achieved this feat not once, but twice. His partnership with Wang Chi-Lin stands out in badminton history, especially given their surprising rise to glory despite not winning a title in the preceding year.
Their Olympic journey was filled with remarkable moments, culminating in a final that may go down as one of the greatest ever. After facing challenges in their partnership post-Tokyo 2020, the duo overcame fitness struggles to prevail in nail-biting matches at the Olympics.
In the gold medal match at Paris 2024, Lee Yang showcased exceptional talent and composure, steering the pair through the ups and downs of the competition. Both players had humble beginnings, but their complementary skills flourished when they teamed up in 2018, marking the start of a successful partnership.
After a rocky path through inconsistent performances, the duo rediscovered their winning formula in Paris, overcoming doubts and fierce competition to reclaim the gold. “I’m happy that, with such tough competition, we still managed to win the gold medal,” said Lee Yang, reflecting on their remarkable journey.
In today’s quarterfinals of the 2024 Hong Kong Open, the new Chinese men’s doubles pair Huang Di / Zhou Haodong lost 0-2 (21-23, 17-21) to Taipei’s Chiu Hsiang-chieh / Wang Chi-lin, ending their run in the top eight. This loss marked the complete elimination of the Chinese men’s doubles teams from the tournament.
In this event, China sent four pairs to compete. Huang Di / Zhou Haodong, who had an early exit at the Korean Open, started from the qualification rounds here. They caused an upset by defeating the top-seeded Danish pair Astrup / Andersen in the first round and then swept another Taipei pair 2-0 in the second round.
After losing to the new combination of two-time Olympic champions Wang Chi-lin and Chiu Hsiang-chieh today, Huang Di / Zhou Haodong commented in an interview that they were quite proactive on the court but need to improve on rotation and coordination.
Taiwanese badminton men’s doubles star Lee Yang held his retirement ceremony yesterday, during which a highlight reel of his career was shown, and several badminton stars offered their blessings. These included Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun Man, and Indonesia’s doubles specialists Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. Lee Yang remarked that, at the beginning of the ceremony, the atmosphere felt like a class reunion, but after hearing everyone’s blessings, he truly realized that he had reached the end of his career.
Lee’s former partners, from Chiang Yu-Wei and Lee Jhe-Huei to Wang Chi-Lin, with whom he won an Olympic gold medal, all attended the event to offer their best wishes. Lee Yang made a special comment to Lee Jhe-Huei, saying, “In the past, you were always the first to leave practice early, but this time, it’s my turn to leave the court first.” After saying this, he couldn’t hold back his tears. Chiang Yu-Wei also shared a story, calling Lee Yang a “serious perfectionist.” He mentioned that when they played singles games, the loser had to buy drinks or do push-ups, “But Lee Yang would always seriously record who should be punished on his phone. I’d think, is that really necessary?”
Lee Yang said, “I’m very grateful to myself for sticking with it for so long. I would sleep at 11 p.m. every day and wake up at 7:20 a.m. If there was anything that could help my badminton, I would want to do it.”
After the retirement ceremony, Lee Yang posted an emotional message on social media, saying that in a few years, he wasn’t sure if people would still remember him. Reflecting on his past efforts, he recalled how a “little chubby boy” fought hard on the badminton court, pushing himself to be disciplined just to show his best form. Now, that little chubby boy must say a proper goodbye to the court he loved and to the people who supported him. He ended his message with, “The curtain falls on Lee Yang’s badminton career.”
Regarding his post-retirement plans, Lee Yang revealed that he will begin teaching at a sports university today. In the future, he hopes to find time to organize a cycling trip around Taiwan and to travel to the U.S. to watch NBA basketball games.
The Olympic double gold medal pair, Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin were knocked out of the Taipei Open Super 300 men’s doubles round of 16 today, losing 21-15, 15-21, 20-22 to their junior teammates Yang Po-Han and Liu Kuang Heng, thus missing the opportunity to close Lee Yang’s “final dance” with a championship victory.
The best result for the Li-Wang duo at the Chinese Taipei Open had been a runner-up finish in the past. As Lee Yang plans to retire after this year’s tournament, the pair reunited for this special occasion. However, they found themselves in a tough battle against the world-ranked 88th “Cold Wave Duo.” After the match, a frustrated Wang Chi-Lin said, “I played poorly, very badly. I really appreciate his tolerance on the court, but today I just didn’t perform well at all.”
Lee Yang came to Wang’s defense, saying, “Chi-Lin has always been a great friend and partner. He really wanted to give me a perfect ending here at the Chinese Taipei Open, so he put a lot of pressure on himself, which made it hard for him today. But regardless, we fought for every shot out there.”
In 2013, no national team, except South Korea, had won all five event titles. This year, host team Chinese Taipei is the only team to have seeds in all five events.
Chinese Taipei has had winners in the past six editions of the tournament, marking the longest winning streak since Indonesia’s 11 consecutive wins from 1990 to 2002. There were no tournaments held in 1998 and 2001.
Local star Tai Tzu-ying has won five of the last ten women’s singles titles. Defending her title would make the world No. 3 player the most successful competitor in the history of the tournament. She would also become the first player since Denmark’s women’s singles player Kirsten Larsen in 1988 to win three consecutive championships.
Both Tai Tzu-ying and fellow home favorite Chou Tien-chen, who have won titles previously, are the top-seeded players in this year’s tournament.
Since Tai Tzu-ying won her first gold medal in 2012, only South Korea has produced multiple champions in the event.
Along with the pair of Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong (2019), Wang Chi-lin (2017 and 2018 with Chen Hung-ling) and Tseng Hsiao-yang, six former champions are participating in this year’s tournament. However, their partners have changed: Wu Tso-tung, Chen Chien-jen, and Tseng Chun-hua have different partners, while Wang Chi-lin competes in his final match alongside his two-time Olympic gold-medalist partner Lee Yang.
Women’s doubles has been the only event won by different countries in the last four editions: Japan (2018), Thailand (2019), Hong Kong (2022), and South Korea (2023).
Key Data: Chinese Taipei has yet to win a mixed doubles event directly, though this year they have four seeded pairs in the mixed doubles draw, including top seeds Ye Hong-wei and Lee Chia-hsin.
Double Olympic gold medalists Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin are teaming up for the first time since the Olympics. They will be reuniting to compete in this week’s Chinese Taipei Open, aiming for a strong performance. Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin have already started practicing at the venue, with Lee Yang noting that the strong wind at the venue presents a significant challenge, and they will need to devise strategies to overcome it.
As Lee Yang has announced his retirement at the end of this season, Wang Chi-Lin has been partnering with new partner Chiu Hsiang-chieh in the Japan Open and Korea Open after the Paris Olympics. Returning to their home ground, Wang Chi-Lin has chosen to reunite with Lee Yang for this final match, hoping to give fans a memorable end to their partnership.
Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin’s best result at the Chinese Taipei Open was a runner-up finish in 2022.
For this Chinese Taipei Open, Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin are the top seeds. In the first round, they will face the French pair Mael Cattoen and Lucas Renoir, who are ranked 84th in the world and have no previous record of facing each other.
Wang Chi-lin and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh, lost to the strong Korean duo of Seo Seung-jae and Kang Min-hyuk with scores of 27-25, 23-25, and 11-21 in the semifinals of the Super 500 Series Korea Open. Following the match, Wang Chi-lin commented, “The results have exceeded expectations, and the performance is quite satisfactory.”
The Lin-Chiu pair fought hard for 68 minutes before falling short of reaching the final. Wang Chi-lin noted, “Although it’s a bit disappointing, the results have exceeded expectations, and the performance is quite satisfactory. There is still plenty of room for improvement and adjustment.”
Wang Chi-lin also praised his new partner, the 21-year-old Chiu Hsiang-hsiang, saying, “My younger partner, Chiu, performed admirably. We will continue to work hard!”
Furthermore, the Chinese Taipei Open will commence on September 3rd, where Wang Chi-lin will reunite with Lee Yang to defend their home court. “Next week, I’ll be back with Lee Yang. See you at the Chinese Taipei Open!” The Lin-Lee pair is the top seed in men’s doubles, and this will be Lee Yang’s final participation in the Chinese Taipei Open.
At the Super 750 Japan Open, Paris Olympic gold medalists Wang Chi-Lin and his 21-year-old partner Chiu Hsiang-chieh, known as the “Lin-Chiang Pair,” defeated Japan’s top men’s doubles duo, Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi, with scores of 21-16, 21-13. Following the match, Hoki and Kobayashi appeared quite disheartened.
Ranked 8th in the world, Hoki and Kobayashi, who won gold at the 2021 World Championships and once held the world number one spot, had set their sights on winning a medal at the Paris Olympics this year. However, their campaign ended prematurely as they were eliminated in the group stage, losing their opening match to the “Lin-Yang Pair,” Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin.
Now facing Wang Chi-Lin again at the Japan Open, Hoki and Kobayashi still found themselves unable to overcome the formidable duo, with Hoki admitting after the match, “One of our opponents is an Olympic gold medalist. We knew how to counter them, but we were still overpowered by their strength.”
After their early exit from the Japan Open, Hoki expressed their future ambitions, stating, “We aim to once again target the world number one spot.” Kobayashi added, “As long as we can participate in high-level events, we will continue to strive.”
Wang Chi Lin is a male badminton player from Chinese Taipei.
In June 2013, Wang Qilin played in the Maldives Badminton International Challenge and reached the men’s doubles final with Tian Zijie; they eventually defeated the Indonesian pair (21-15, 21-17) to take their first career international title.
In April 2017, Wang Qilin/Chen Honglin competed in the China Badminton Masters as the top seed, defeating Japan’s Takuto Inoue/Yuki Kaneko 2-0 (21-14, 21-6) in the final to win their first Golden Grand Prix level title since being paired together.
In 2018, Wang Qilin and Chen Honglin reached the quarterfinals of the Japan Badminton Open and the China Badminton Open in quick succession, and then defended their title after defeating teammates Liao Minjhong/Su Jingheng at the Chinese Taipei Badminton Open in October, bringing them to a career-high No. 4 in the world rankings released by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Oct. 25 of that year.
Due to partner Chen Honglin’s decision to retire from international competition, Wang Qilin was paired with Li Yang, who transferred to the Tujin badminton team at the end of 2018.In February 2019, the pair played their first international tournament since being paired together, the Badminton Masters Spain. In the final, the pair defeated Kim Won Ho/Seo Seung Jae of South Korea in straight sets (21-8, 23-21) to win their first tournament title since being partnered.
On August 1, 2021 in the final, the pair defeated China’s Twin Towers Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen in straight sets (21-18, 21-12) to win the Tokyo Olympic gold medal in men’s badminton doubles.
On August 4, 2024, Wang Qilin partnered Li Yang to defend their title in the men’s doubles final at the Paris Olympics, defeating Liang Weikang and Wang Chang 21-17, 18-21, 21-19 in the final.
World Ranking – Men’s Doubles 9, Week 33, 2024
Olympic Points – Men’s Doubles 10, 71008 points
Finals Ranking – Men’s Doubles 21, 33150 points
Equipment Used
BG-80,NANOFLARE 1000Z,NANOFLARE 700,SHBA3MEX,INFINITY 2,JETSPEED S 12,INFINITY,NANORAY 900 Navy Blue,SHBELSZ,BA31WAP/E EX
Major Achievements
2024 Paris Olympics Badminton Men’s Doubles Gold Medalist
On the evening of August 4th, at the 2024 Paris Olympic badminton tournament, the men’s doubles final and the men’s and women’s singles semifinals took place. Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang fell to Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin, claiming the silver medal. Viktor Axelsen defeated Lakshya Sen to advance to the final once again, while Kunlavut Vitidsarn overcame Lee Zii Jia 2-0 to reach his first Olympic final. An Se-young reversed the match against Gregoria Mariska Tunjung to secure her place in the final, and Carolina Marín withdrew due to injury, allowing He Bingjiao to advance to the final.
In the men’s doubles final, the Chinese pair Liang Weikeng/Wang Chang faced off against the Chinese Taipei pair Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin. The match began with the Chinese Taipei team taking the lead, reaching the mid-game interval first. After the break, Liang and Wang adjusted quickly, equalizing the score. However, after a brief tussle, the Chinese Taipei pair regained the lead and won the first game 21-17. In the second game, Liang and Wang fell behind early but fought hard to catch up. Despite several errors, they never gave up, eventually overturning the deficit to win 21-18. The match went to a decisive game where both pairs were neck and neck. In the final moments, Liang and Wang could not overcome their opponents, losing 19-21 and thus earning the silver medal, while Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin successfully defended their Olympic men’s doubles title.
In the previous round, Denmark’s Astrup/Anders and Malaysia’s Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik were defeated by Liang Weikeng/Wang Chang and Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin, respectively, setting up the bronze medal match in the Paris Olympic men’s doubles event. Both pairs quickly got into the game, with intense competition from the start. The Danish pair aggressively controlled the net, leading 11-8 at the mid-game interval. After the break, they maintained their rhythm and won the first game 21-16. In the second game, the Danish pair continued their dominance, leading 20-16, but the Malaysian pair staged a comeback, winning six consecutive points to take the game. The final game saw a change in momentum, with the Malaysian pair leading after the early exchanges. The Danish pair fought back, bringing the score to 19-19. In the crucial moments, the Malaysian pair held their nerve to win 21-19, securing the bronze medal, their second Olympic men’s doubles bronze.
In men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen triumphed over Lakshya Sen with a score of 22-20, 21-14, advancing to the final for the second consecutive Olympics, marking his fourth straight victory against Sen. He will face Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the final, who defeated Lee Zii Jia 21-14, 21-15, marking his second consecutive win against Lee and his first Olympic final appearance.
In women’s singles, Carolina Marín’s withdrawal allowed He Bingjiao to advance to the final, securing her second consecutive victory against Marín. She will face An Se-young, who reversed her match against Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, winning 11-21, 21-13, 21-16 to achieve her ninth consecutive victory against Tunjung. Both players are making their first appearance in an Olympic final.
