Badminton Season 2019 Recap – Mixed Doubles
Mixed Doubles in China`s Firm Grip
Well, a look at the table of results for the five biggest Badminton tournaments in 2019 is enough. Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong of China are still dominating the field in Mixed Doubles. Quite incredibly – they won all five of these titles. And most of them in very convincing fashion. In the World Championship Final for example the Thai pair had a hard time to reach double digits in each set. And this isn`t the only example. Opponents just seem to have a hard time getting the attack theselves. Huang Yaqiong is just so dominant at the net and also the most stable woman in defense, that it`s hard to get out of Siwei`s Smashing Rain, once he is in there.
| Yonex All England Open Championships | Blibli Indonesia Open | BWF World Championships | Victor China Open | BWF World Tour Finals | |
| Winner | Siwei/ Yaqiong | Siwei/ Yaqiong | Siwei/ Yaqiong | Siwei/ Yaqiong | Siwei/ Yaqiong |
| Runner-Up | Watanabe/ Higashino | Yilyu/ Dongping | Dechapol/ Sapsiree | Yilyu/ Dongping | Yilyu/ Dongping |
Hope For A More Even Field?
But there have been glimpses of hope for the competition. In the All England Semifinal in March they were almost out, when the Indonesian pair Jordan/Oktavianti wasted 4(!) match points in a row. And this Indonesian pair showed their immense potential in a Golden October with fantastic performances at the French and Denmark Open. In both tournaments they beat Siwei/Yaqiong and especially Praveen Jordan showed that he is probably the most talented guy in mixed doubles currently.
The Thai pair Dechapol/Sapsiree, Yilyu/Dongping and Watanabe/Higashino of Japan are the chasers of the Chinese No. 1 – and they all had some good runs in 2019 and were able to beat Siwei/Yaqiong at least once. However when it really counted they were just not good enough.
Behind the Top 4 there are some pairs that might pose a threat to the established top mixed doubles teams. Lead by Jordan/Okatavianti and the experienced Malaysian pair Chan Peng Soon & Sexy Goh Liu Ying…but also the young Koreans Seo Seung Jae & Chae Yoo Jung or Hafiz Faizal & Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja showed glimpses of theirm potential.
It will also be interesting to see if married couple Chris & Gabby Adcock can leave a sub-par 2019 season behind them and get back to old strength. And interesting 2020 in the mixed doubles category is ahead…
Also read:
Mens Doubles Recap
Mens Singles Recap
Womens Singles Recap
