In keeping with recent trends, men’s singles at the VICTOR China Open 2023 will once again see blockbuster opening round clashes between recent HSBC BWF World Tour winners.
The China Open (5-10 September 2023), to be held in Changzhou, will be the first World Tour event after the TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2023 and is the fourth and final Super 1000 of the year.
Top seed Viktor Axelsen, winner of three events this season, will take on Taipei Open champion Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo while in the same quarter, Korea Open winner Anders Antonsen faces Canada Open champion Lakshya Sen.
In the second quarter, India Open winner Kunlavut Vitidsarn takes on Orleans Masters champion Priyanshu Rajawat, while Indonesia Masters winner Jonatan Christie and Australia Open winner Weng Hong Yang face off.
Other fascinating opening round matches in men’s singles include Loh Kean Yew versus Christo Popov, HS Prannoy versus Ng Tze Yong, Brian Yang against Kidambi Srikanth, Lee Zii Jia against Kodai Naraoka, Chou Tien Chen against Li Shi Feng, Zhao Jun Peng against Lee Cheuk Yiu, and Kanta Tsuneyama against second seed Anthony Sinisuka Ginting.
Men’s doubles too is likely to feature tight contests in the opening rounds. Top seeds Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto face European Games champions Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, while the second quarter will see India Open winners Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang against Thailand Masters champions Leo Rolly Carnando/Daniel Marthin.
In the bottom quarter, three-time world champions Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan, who are looking for their first title of the season, run into Australian Open winners Kang Min Hyuk/Seo Seung Jae.
Watch Out For (1st Round):
Women’s Singles:
Beiwen Zhang vs Chen Yu Fei
Kirsty Gilmour vs Yvonne Li
Kim Ga Eun vs Pusarla V Sindhu
Women’s Doubles
Chen Qing Chen/Jia Yi Fan vs Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand Pullela
Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara vs Gabriela Stoeva/Stefani Stoeva
Lee Yu Lim/Shin Seung Chan vs Liu Sheng Shu/Tan Ning
Jeong Na Eun/Kim Hye Jeong vs Benyapa Aimsaard/Nuntakarn Aimsaard
Mixed Doubles
Mathias Christiansen/Alexandra Boje vs Seo Seung Jae/Chae Yu Jung
Robin Tabeling/Selena Piek vs Ye Hong Wei/Lee Chia Hsin
Terry Hee/Tan Wei Han vs Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping