Tai, Minions Seek Hat-Trick – All England: Preview
A winning streak that hasn’t been repeated in a decade will be on the line when Tai Tzu Ying begins her campaign at the Yonex All England Open Badminton Championships 2019.
· DEV SUKUMAR
Chinese Taipei’s Tai has a chance to emulate Xie Xingfang, who was the last women’s singles player to achieve three straight titles from 2005 to 2007. Tai, winner here in 2017 and 2018, is playing only her second tournament this season and will hope for another successful year, following her brilliant conquests over the last two years.
But while Tai has been the pre-eminent women’s singles player over the last two seasons, she retired injured at the Hong Kong Open and the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals last year due to injury; this season, she crashed out in the quarterfinals in the only tournament she played – the Malaysia Masters. She faces a stiff opening round test in Birmingham, against Canada’s Michelle Li.
Women’s singles has a wealth of talent, but a few contenders stand out due to recent form – India’s Pusarla V. Sindhu and Saina Nehwal, and Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi. Pusarla achieved her career’s biggest triumph at the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals, banishing a major finals jinx that had dogged her. The Indian has made no secret of her ambitions for the All England; the fact that no Indian woman has triumphed at the world’s oldest tournament will spur her on.