The race for the championship in the 2022 Uber Cup team event most likely will narrow down to China, the defending champion, and Japan who’s the champion of the previous 2018 edition. The two badminton giants has their strength quite evenly distributed within their women’s teams.
China has two singles player who are at the top 10 in the BWF World Rankings, namely Chen Yu Fei (#3) and He Bing Jiao (#9). Besides the two players, there are still the third singles Wang Zhi Yi (#16), Han Yue (#24), and Zhang Yi Man (#35). Chen Yu Fei is the gold medalist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He Bing Jiao, on the other hand, just won the Korea Masters last April, defeating Chen Yu Fei. Wang Zhi Yi just mad a surprise by winning the Badminton Asia Championships 2022 by defeating the first seed from Japan, Akane Yamaguchi. On top of the toughness of their top three singles are China’s mighty doubles: Chen Qing Chen/Jia Yi Fan. Last week, they also became the champion of Badminton Asia Championships 2022. Previously, Chen Qing Chen/Jia Yi Fan were the silver medalists at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
On the other solid corner, there is Japan’s powerful women’s team. Like China, Japan has two women’s singles players who are on the top 10 of the BWF World Rankings: Akane Yamaguchi (#2) and Nozomi Okuhara (#5). These two players will also be accompanied by Sayaka Takahashi (#13). This year, Akane Yamaguchi is the champion of the prestigious All England Open and she also reached the final of the Badminton Asia Championships 2022. As the first singles, she might have to face tough opponents such as Tai Tzu Ying from Chinese Taipei, P.V. Sindhu from India, An Seyoung from Korea and even Carolina Marin from Spain who’s a Rio 2016 gold medalist. As part of their squad, Japan’s women’s team also has amazing doubles including Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota (#4), Wakana Nagahara/Mayu Matsutomo (#5), and Chiharu Shida/Nami Matsuyama (#7).
Meanwhile, the host country’s team, also has a potential to pose a threat. Thailand’s singles trio can tackle any opponents they face. Thailand has Ratchanok Intanon (#8), Pornpawee Chochuwong (#10), and Busanan Ongbamrungphan (#11). On top of that, there’s the world’s #8 who often stumbles the doubles from China and Japan, Jongkolphan Kititharakul/Rawinda Prajongjai. As the host of the tournament, the Thai players will have more enthusiasm as they will also be supported by spectators. The last time Thailand hosted the Uber Cup in 2018, they made it as the runner up. Will they be able to lift the most prestigious women’s team cup in their homeland this year?
