Draw for YONEX All England Championships revealed
The draw for the 2023 YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships has been revealed with some blockbuster clashes to look forward to.
Action at the Utilita Arena begins on the 14 March and there will be plenty of intriguing ties to look forward to over the following days.
In the women’s singles draw, world No.1 and defending champion Akane Yamaguchi is top seed and opens her campaign against Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt.
The Japanese has been drawn in the same half of the draw as fourth seed and 2019 champion Chen Yu Fei, with the Chinese up against Michelle Li in her first round match.
Second seed An Se Young begins her title charge with a contest against Chinese Taipei’s Wen Chi Hsu, with the South Korean drawn into a potential quarter-final against seventh seed Carolina Marin.
2016 champion Marin, the seventh seed this year, is drawn in one of the most intriguing opening round clashes, with the Spaniard up against Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmour.
Third seed in the draw is Tai Tzu Ying, who will start her quest for a fourth YONEX All England title with a clash versus South Korea’s Kim Ga Eun.
“Siri, bring us back to the moment where A Star is Born” ✨🏸
Will we get a LZJ comeback at the YONEX All England Open 2023?
Only ☝🏼 way to find out – secure your seats NOW at #YAE23 https://t.co/SWU1QcH5Wf 🎫 pic.twitter.com/LS7JZsKb6o
— 🏆 Yonex All England Badminton Championships 🏆 (@YonexAllEngland) February 23, 2023
Tzu Ying could face fifth see He Bing Jiao in the quarter-final, before a potential semi-final encounter with Young.
Viktor Axelsen is back to defend his men’s singles crown, and the top seed will face Lee Cheuk Yiu as he begins his mission for a third title in Birmingham.
The Dane, currently world No.1, is drawn to face eighth seed Loh Kean Yew at the quarter-final stage, with the Singaporean opening his draw with a match against Zhao Jun Peng.
Jonatan Christie is seeded second and faces China’s Weng Hong Yang in the opening round, with the Indonesian set to come up against sixth seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the last eight.
The Thai has an intriguing opener against 2019 winner Kento Momota, and there are plenty of other first round matches to look forward to.
2022 runner-up Lakshya Sen and fifth seed Chou Tien Chen face off in perhaps the pick of the opening round ties, while the winner of that will face either Anders Antonsen and Rasmus Gemke in round two.
Third seed Anthony Sinisuka Ginting is also in that section of the draw and begins against Kantaphon Wangcharoen.
Meanwhile, 2021 champion Lee Zii Jia is up against Sitthikom Thammasin in round one, and could go on to face seventh seed Kodai Naraoka in the last eight.
Women’s doubles top seeds Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan were champions at this event four years ago, and the pairing start their charge for a second title with a match versus Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi.
South Korean stars Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong are seeded sixth and are the top seeds’ projected quarter-final opponents, opening against Linda Efler and Isabel Lohau.
Defending champions Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida are seeded second and the Japanese pairing open up against Catherine Choi and Josephine Wu, with eighth seedsApriyani Rahayu and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti set to be their quarter-final opponents.
Elsewhere, third seeds Zhang Shu Xian and Zheng Yu start their tournament versus Rui Hirokami and Yuna Kato, while South Korean fourth seeds Jeong Na Eun and Kim Hye Jeong are up against Yeung Nga Ting and Yeung Pui Lam to begin with.
🌎 Top badminton players from all nations will gather at the YONEX All England Open 2023 🏆
Can you name the nations represented at the #YAE22?
Experience the world’s best badminton players in one week, 14-19 March 2023, Utilita Arena Birmingham. 🎫 https://t.co/SWU1QcH5Wf pic.twitter.com/SgbfzbVPHQ
— 🏆 Yonex All England Badminton Championships 🏆 (@YonexAllEngland) February 22, 2023
One of the biggest opening round clashes comes in the men’s doubles, with a seeded pairing up against former YONEX All England champions.
Sixth seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will start their campaign against ‘Minions’ Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo, who won the title in 2017 and 2018.
Top seeds Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto open against Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae, while second seeds Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik start their draw versus Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin.
Fourth seeds Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi face fellow Japanese pairing Keiichiro Matsui and Yoshinori Takeuchi, with third seeds Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan face a tough test against fellow Indonesians Pramudya Kusumawardana and Yeremia Erich Yoche Yacob Rambitan.
And defending champions Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Bagas Maulana begin their campaign against fellow unseeded duo Kim Gi Jung and Kim Sa Rang.
Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino will be looking for a third consecutive mixed doubles crown, with the Japanese duo second seeds in Birmingham.
They start their campaign against Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet, while top seeds Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong face Danish duo Mathias Thyrri and Amalie Magelund.
Third seeds Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai will begin versus Mathias Christiansen and Alexandra Bøje, while fourth seeds Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue will begin their campaign against Ko Sung Hyun and Eom Hye Won.
Full draw information can be found here
