Dubai: World number six Sung Ji-hyun of South Korea will face seventh-ranked Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei in the women’s singles final, while top-ranked Chen Long will seek to extend his reign in the men’s singles as he takes on seventh ranked Hans-Kristian Vittinghus of Denmark at the 2014 BWF Destination Dubai World Superseries Badminton Finals at the Hamdan Sports Complex on Sunday.
Tai fought from a set down to secure an 11-21, 21-13, 21-9 win over India’s Saina Nehwal, while Sung was in supreme form beating a fast-improving Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 21-13, 21-13.
In the men’s singles, both semi-finals were settled in straight sets with Chen getting a good measure of Indian K Srikanth for a 21-18, 21-9 win while Vittinghus proved inspirational with a 21-11, 21-17 win over countryman Jan O Jorgensen.
This tournament is the first of four years that the traditional season-ending BWF Destination Dubai World Superseries Badminton Finals will be held in Dubai. Facilitated by Falcon and Associates, the Superseries is a celebration of the finest talent in badminton with the top eight players and pairs in five different categories vying for a total prize fund of $1 million (Dh3.65 million).
It will be an all-Chinese affair in the mixed doubles with top-ranked Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei meeting eighth-ranked Liu Cheng and Bao Yixin in the final, and in the men’s doubles, the top-ranked Korean duo of Lee Dong Dae and Yoo Yeon Seong will take on sixth-ranked Chai Biao and Hong Wei after the Chinese duo upset world number three Hiroyuki Endo and Kenichi Hayakawa of Japan in three sets, 21-18, 15-21, 21-12 in the last semi-finals of the night.
The women’s doubles final should also be an engrossing affair with the number one pair of Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi of Japan taking on the third-ranked Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei of China.
Sunday is the final day of competition and action at the Hamdan Sports Complex s scheduled to commence at 2.30pm with the men’s doubles, followed by the women’s doubles. This will be followed by the men’s and women’s singles finals and conclude with the mixed doubles final.
