Often referred to as the ’Wimbledon of Badminton’, the hotly contested Birmingham-based tournament is only won by the best. To win it more than once is a very special accolade indeed. This year we have a group of singles players fighting for just that.
The historic All England Open is one of the few tournaments that have come through the pandemic ‘unscathed’, however, this year fans are excited and have been longing for a more ‘normal’ edition of the famous tournament. With the draws packed with the usual big names and some exciting new ones, we are in for a great week.
Men’s singles – the next ones?
Lin Dan, Lee Chong Wei and Chen Long. These are the three names of the men who managed to lift the All England trophy more than once since the turn of the millennium. In fact, they have an impressive 12 between them.
The legendary trio dominated and took it in turns to win this top prize between 2009 and 2016, since then, Shi Yu Qi (2018), Kento Momota (2019), Viktor Axelsen (2020) and Lee Zii Jia (2021) have recorded a title win each. Will one of them take steps into the territory of the greats?
After a year he will never forget, Viktor Axelsen, the Olympic Champion, is perhaps at the front of the queue. The number one seed is presented with a draw where both Lee Zii Jia and Kento Momota are in the opposite half.
The tall Dane will still need to be wary, with Chou Tien Chen, beaten finalist to him in 2020, World silver medallist Srikanth Kidambi and the in-form German Open Champion, Kunlavut Vitidsarn are eyeing up upset opportunities in the latter stages.
On the busier side of the draw, if safely navigating the tricky early rounds, fans may be treated to another Lee Zii Jia vs Kento Momota spectacle. The two played four times in 2021, with some mightily close clashes. The 2021 head-to-head is a draw at 2-2 and their rivalry is looking likely to spill over into 2022.
The winner would book a spot in the semifinal, but who could they meet? It is a long journey, but the reigning World Champion Loh Kean Yew may look to re-ignite his form in Birmingham but will have to get past the likes of Anders Antonsen, who will be out for revenge, and Lakshya Sen, who shared the podium with both Antonsen and Loh in Huelva.
Women’s singles – can the triangle hold?
The women are perhaps a little further ahead in terms of developing a solid triangle of All England champions. Since 2016, the last six titles have been shared between Tai Tzu Ying, Chen Yu Fei and Nozomi Okuhara. Will this continue this week?
For the number one seed and three-time champion, a very difficult quarterfinal may be on the horizon. The fans may have the chance to see the 14th clash between Tai and the reigning All England Champion, Nozomi Okuhara. It’s been over two years since they last played and the current head-to-head is 7-6 in favour of Tai.
Also in their half of the draw is An Seyoung and Ratchanok Intanon, ready to pounce on either of these two previous winners if given the chance.
On the other half of the draw, the third point of the triangle, Chen Yu Fei, also has a tough potential matchup in the quarterfinals. If getting through rounds one and two, the Olympic Champion faces a repeat of last week’s final in Germany, her compatriot He Bing Jiao. He has shown glimpses of the special things she can do and perhaps 2022 will be her year?
Again, wherever you look in the All England draw there is danger. Looming on this side of the draw is Pusarla V. Sindhu, World Champion Akane Yamaguchi and the ever-resilient Pornpawee Chochuwong.
What history tells us is that only the biggest stars are able to regularly overcome test after test to lift the coveted All England trophy. The entertainment is guaranteed, and the fans are back in the arena. Let’s sit back and enjoy watching some world class badminton!
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