Badminton: Tournament draws quality field

Jen Hao Hsu was runner-up in last year's open, but the world No 22 faces a tough assignment if he's to go one better this time. Photo / Brett Phibbs

New Zealand Open upgraded to GP Gold status and offering good prizemoney attracts top badminton players

Auckland will this month host the highest calibre badminton tournament to be held in New Zealand.

Entries are locked in and players in the New Zealand Open, starting on April 28 at the North Shore Events Centre, include current world junior champions, former Olympic Games medallists and many who have been ranked in the world top 10.

The tournament, having been upgraded to Grand Prix Gold status, has helped attract top quality players, with ranking points and the US$120,000 ($157, 850) prize money the highest for a New Zealand event, providing significant incentives for players.

The world mixed team championship, the Sudirman Cup, is in China the following week, so Auckland offers an ideal lead-in for players.

There will be 30 players currently ranked inside the world top 50. Indonesia, with 54 players in the fields, is the most heavily represented among the 22 countries.

"Looking through the draw for both the men's and women's singles there are just so many great clashes right from round one, spectators are in for a treat the moment the open gets under way," event director Julie Carrel said.

Taipei's Jen Hao Hsu and Adrianti Firdasari of Indonesia are top men's and women's seeds respectively. Hsu was runner-up at the Sky City-sponsored open last year, but the world No 22 faces a tough assignment if he's to go one better this time. The 23-year-old won the California Grand Prix last December and is at his highest career ranking.

Jakarta-born Firdasari, 28, won the New Zealand Open 10 years ago, and is a three-time Grand Prix event winner, most recently at the Indonesian Open last year. She has been as high as No 15 on world rankings and has won medals five times in Uber and Sudirman Cup competition.

For an example of how tough the draw is, take Indonesia's Simon Santoso. He was world No 8 last August before being injured. Seeded sixth in Auckland, he has an awkward first round clash with current world junior champion, China's Gui Pu Lin.

Nestled in behind Hsu in the seedings are former world No 12 Wing Ki Vincent Wong, of Hong Kong, and Hyun Il Lee, of Korea, who was seventh in the world and has twice played semifinals at the Olympics.

The leading five women's seeds are in the top 40 while last year's world junior championship runner- up, Bing Jiao He, of China, is a potential surprise. She is drawn to face Firdasari in the second round, if both progress through their opening matches. Second and third seeds, Singapore's Jiayuan Chen and Iris Wang of the US, are two with their best years ahead.

New Zealand Open seedings

Men
1: Jen Hao Hsu (Taipei, world ranking 22)
2: Wing Ki Vincent Wong (Hong Kong, 25)
3: Hyun Il Lee (Korea, 28)
4: Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka (Indonesia, 23)
5 Ka Long Angus Ng (Hong Kong, 32)
6 Simon Santoso (Indonesia, 37)
7 Boonsak Ponsana (Thailand, 38)
8 Wei Feng Chong (Malaysia, 39)
9 Zi Liang Derek Wong (Singapore, 42)
10 Zulfadli Zulkiffli (Malaysia, 48)

Women
1 Adrianti Firdasari (Indonesia, 37)
2: Jiayuan Chen (Singapore, 43)
3 Iris Wang (US, 39)
4: Maria Febe Kusumastuti (Indonesia, 47)
5 Ngan Yi Cheung (Hong Kong, 52)
6 Neslihan Yigit (Turkey, 57)
7 Ozge Bayrak (Turkey, 60)
8 Aya Ohori (Japan, 67)
9 Sannatasah Saniru (Malaysia, 80)
10 Ruselli Hartawan (Indonesia, 81)

Rankings done at time of entry