Two defending champions in action on Day 1
Defending mixed doubles champions Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong will be in action on Day 1 of the YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships 2024.
The Chinese top seeds will take on Vinson Chiu and Jennie Gai of the USA as they look to win the title for a third time having also claimed the top prize in 2019.
Zheng and Huang are the penultimate match on Court 4, which will also feature women’s doubles third seeds Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara of Japan.
Another No.1 seed getting their campaign underway on the opening Tuesday is Viktor Axelsen of Denmark.
The 2022 champion, Axelsen suffered a shock second-round exit from last year’s tournament but will be hoping for a smooth start against Srikanth Kidambi of India.
Axelsen and Kidambi will be the eighth match on Minoru Yoneyama Court at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham.
ONE. MORE. DAY
The 2024 YONEX All England is kicking off tomorrow 🤩
Last year’s winners Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong 🇰🇷 came in as the no 6 seeds and prevailed in an all-Korean final! 👏
It’s all happening in Birmingham this week! Be there 🎟️ https://t.co/BAuANumaHF pic.twitter.com/cxbv99aYTa
— 🏆 Yonex All England Badminton Championships 🏆 (@YonexAllEngland) March 11, 2024
The first players in action on that court are Lee Chia Hsin and Teng Cun Hsun of Chinese Taipei in the women’s doubles and they will take on Benyapa and Nuntakarn Aimsaard.
A defending champion in early action will be Li Shi Feng of China, the men’s singles third seed will face Toma Junior Popov of France second on 12Bet Court.
Popov will immediately follow his brother Christo who opens 12Bet Court against Lee Ceuk Yiu of Hong Kong.
The first British hopefuls in action will be Alexander Dunn and Adam Hall, with the Scottish pair third up on Court 3.
Three is the magic number for them as they also take on third seeds Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Bagas Maulana of Indonesia.
Meanwhile, the penultimate match on 12Bet Court is the all-English mixed doubles tie of Jenny and Greg Mairs up against Lauren Smith and Marcus Ellis.
The pairs are meeting for just the second time in international competition, last playing each other at the 2017 YONEX Dutch Open.
Fans not lucky enough to have tickets can watch live coverage on both the BBC and on TNT Sports, for more information on the coverage click here.
The Yonex All England Open takes place at Utilita Arena in Birmingham between 12-17 March, tickets can be purchased here.
