Tak Tine !
Tine Baun had announced that the 2013 Yonex All England was to be her last tournament. Her farewell was one of the most emotional ones as the Dane clinched her third title in Birmingham. Perhaps symbolically, the woman over whom she prevailed 21-14, 16-21, 21-10 was the World Champion-to-be, Ratchanok Intanon
Chen Jin new coach
Chen Jin is amongst the players who retired in 2013 – his back problems were too much to cope with and the 26-year-old decided to start a new career as a coach for the women’s singles squad for China.
Solidarity an
Some of the best badminton shuttlers on the planet got together for a unique show, in Geneva – One Night With Stars II - a second edition with exhibition matches and music. Peter Gade played the guitar live for the first time with Suzanne Rayappan and local star Alenko on vocals.
nd Badminton
In August 2013, Solibad went in a very remote village in Uganda called Mawanga. Kids had never seen any kind of racket before. In a few minutes, they were hitting smashes like champions
Sudirman Cup – The Big Blow
Germany created the biggest upset of the year in the team event when they outplayed Malaysia in the group stage of the team event. It was a big blow to the home team, who bowed in the mixed doubles, women’s singles and women’s doubles to the Europeans.
China again China beat Korea in the final of the 2013 Sudirman Cup with no chance left for the latter. Xu Chen / Ma Jin, Chen Long and the duo of Liu Xiaolong / Qiu Zihan took the first three points of the tie to permit China to begin celebrating its 5th straight victory in the event.
A Dane for President Poul-Erik Hoyer, 48, became the new President of the Badminton World Federation after he was elected by the General Assembly, succeeding Korea’s Dr. Kang Young Joong (left). Hoyer pulled in 145 votes to Indonesia’s Justin Suhandinata’s 120. Gustavo Salazar Delgado from Peru was elected Vice-President.
Bye Bye Taufik
Taufik Hidayat was beaten by India’s Sai Praneeth in the first round of the Djarum Indonesia Open. This would be Taufik’s last international match and the Indonesian hero was given a special tribute during the final day of the tournament, where he symbolically handed over his racket to one of the country’s hopes – Jonatan Christie.
Amazing Lin Dan
Lin Dan triumphed over Lee Chong Wei, once again, in the final of the World Championships, in Guangzhou, China. After almost a year away from the court, with only a wild card entitling him to participate, the two-time Olympic champion proved once again he is the best of his generation‌if not ever.
Lee Chong Wei’s dramatic exit
After his narrow miss in the 2011 final, Lee Chong Wei bowed again to his arch-rival Lin Dan in the final of the event. The Malaysian was immobilized with cramps towards the end of the match and was not able to finish, leaving the court on a stretcher.
New generation
Ratchanok Intanon became the youngest ever singles World Champion in Guangzhou, after beating the reigning Olympic champion Li Xuerui after a splendid 22-20, 18-21, 21-14 battle of over one hour. The 18-year-old was to suddenly become a national hero back in Thailand.
Konichiwa Akane!
Akane Yamaguchi became the youngest ever Superseries winner at the tender age of 16, when she scooped the Yonex Japan Open title in Tokyo, beating her compatriot Shizuka Uchida in straight games, 21-15, 21-19.
New lethal pairings
2013 was a year of changes in the doubles partnerships at the top. Amongst the lethal new combinations to emerge were Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan and Korea’s Lee Yong Dae partnering Yoo Yeon Seong. The new pairs scooped 3 Superseries titles each, but Ahsan and Setiawan were crowned World Champions in August and won the Superseries Finals in Kuala Lumpur.
World Para Badminton at its best
Never had the World Para Badminton Championships been put so much in the limelight. It featured amazing matches and incredible champions, like England’s “flying” Isaak Dalglish, pictured here. The BWF is pushing hard for Para Badminton to be included in the Olympics for 2020 in Tokyo. It would be well deserved.
London Grand Prix Gold welcomes new Sponsor, new trend
A new event, held in the Copper Box, home of the Olympic Handball event in 2012, the London Grand Prix Gold was run by Badminton England and the very same team which had made Wembley a success at the 2012 Olympics. It was original in many different aspects, with a new title sponsor and new colours: all black, with a carpet in the shape of red bricks. And it was a great event to watch
Top European
Christinna Pedersen became European’s top prize-winner after she nailed two titles in the Superseries Finals in Kuala Lumpur. Her prize money for the year was close to US$130,000. She and Kamilla Rytter Juhl are the new nemesis for the top Asian women’s doubles pairs.
Instant Review at the SS finals
Thumbs up, thumbs down. The instant review was welcomed by the spectators and the public during the Superseries Finals. Lee Chong Wei was the first to ask for a “challenge” – where slow motion video replays of the landing of the shuttle allowed the tournament referee to confirm or reverse the line judge’s decision. The technology is costly, but is a great improvement for the sport. To be continued in 2014…
Torsten Berg retires
Denmark’s Torsten Berg, who had been the Referee at the last Olympic Games in London, took his last group pictures with the other referees, umpires and line judges during the Superseries Finals in Kuala Lumpur, as this was his last event as a referee. He was handed a trophy for his achievement by BWF President Poul-Erik Hoyer.
New Master
Viktor Axelsen became the youngest Copenhagen Masters Champion at the age of 19. The former World Junior Champion beat Korea’s Lee Hyun Il in the final of the invitational event in the heart of Danish capital.
PHOTOGRAPHERS Yves Lacroix Yohan Nonotte Antoine Roullet Shi Tang Sven Heise Franck Fuster for Solibad Raphael Sachetat