You can also follow the YONEX Swiss Open 2024 on BWF TV.

** Check your local TV guides for broadcast times and details **

You can also follow the YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships 2024 on BWF TV.

** Check your local TV guides for broadcast times and details **

You can also follow the Orleans Masters Badminton presented by VICTOR 2024 on BWF TV.

** Check your local TV guides for broadcast times and details **

The 44th edition of BWF Newsletter Shuttle World is now available for download.

As we enter a new year, all eyes are on the Road To Paris and the final weeks and months of qualifying for our Olympic and Paralympic aspirants.

Edition 44 November 2023 – January 2024

• President’s Message – Let’s go, it’s 2024
• Paris 2024 Olympic Games: Sprint begins
• Paris 2024 Olympic Games: Paris dreaming
• Paris 2024 Paralympic Games: Elite face-offs in Pattaya
• 2024 Para Badminton Calendar
• Development Updates
• 2024 Highlights

We hope you enjoy reading this edition.

You can also follow the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2023 on BWF TV.

** Check your local TV guides for broadcast times and details **

The Top 8 qualifiers for the world’s richest badminton tournament have been unveiled with the remaining places in the HSBC Race To Finals rankings sealed over the weekend.

Hangzhou, China plays host to the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2023 from 13 to 17 December 2023, with a total prize pool of US$2.5 million on offer.

There are eight qualifying spots in each of the five categories, with a maximum of two players per Member Association, and a spot reserved for the reigning world champion.

Korea’s world champion An Se Young had an exceptional season with eight HSBC BWF World Tour titles from 10 finals, securing 119,890 points for first place. Olympic champion and local Hangzhou hero Chen Yu Fei finished second.

“I’m very happy that more and more international tournaments are coming to Hangzhou, and I feel very amiable to play in my hometown. I’ll enjoy the tournament itself and the atmosphere onsite. Compared to the last few times I participated in the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2023, I feel that I am getting more mature. I will do my best to win the championship.” – Chen Yu Fei.

Third-placed qualifier Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi remains in injury doubt. Korea’s Kim Ga Eun is next in line, with her semifinal finish at the LI-NING China Masters 2023 bumping her to 70,650 points and ninth place overall.

Kodai Naraoka’s 11,000 points from his title win at the LI-NING China Masters 2023 saw him lead the men’s singles HSBC Race To Finals rankings with 89,520 points.

Denmark’s Anders Antonsen was the last player to sneak in, awaiting the result of the Naraoka versus Kenta Nishimoto all-Japanese final in Shenzhen to determine his fate.

Nishimoto’s runner-up finish gave him a total of 77,570 points, falling just short of Antonsen’s 78,110.

Chen Qing Chen/Jia Yi Fan claimed top spot despite playing only 12 HSBC BWF World Tour tournaments. The world champions amassed 101,340 points thanks to five titles in seven finals.

Their young compatriots Liu Sheng Shu/Tan Ning, playing their first HSBC BWF World Tour season, qualified in fifth spot with 89,000 points.

China’s Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chen vaulted into first place in the HSBC Race To Finals rankings on the back of their thrilling final win at the LI-NING China Masters 2023.

World champions Kang Min Hyuk/Seo Seung Jae of Korea qualified in third place.

Hong Kong China’s Tang Chun Man/Tse Ying Suet and Chinese Taipei’s Ye Hong Wei/Lee Chia Hsin were neck-and-neck before the LI-NING China Masters 2023. With Tang/Tse winning their second-round clash and going on to make the semifinals, they secured seventh place, ahead of Malaysia’s Chen Tang Jie/Toh Ee Wei.

Three pairs crossed 100,000 points – China’s Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping and Zheng Si Wei/Huang Ya Qiong, and world champions Seo Seung Jae/Chae Yu Jung.

BWF Secretary General Thomas Lund said: “BWF is excited to promote Hangzhou as the official home of the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals, with world-class facilities and infrastructure.

“The HSBC BWF World Tour Finals is our signature season-ending finale, and thanks to HSBC we have been able to increase our overall commitment to the sport and players.

“We look forward to welcoming the season’s best players to Hangzhou as they compete for their share of the $US2.5 million – the most in the history of badminton.”

The draw will be held during the annual HSBC BWF World Tour Finals Gala Dinner on Monday 11 December. The winners of the BWF Player of the Year Awards will also be announced.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) can confirm Hangzhou, China as host city of the season-ending HSBC BWF World Tour Finals for the next four years.

Starting 2023, BWF unveiled a 31-event new World Tour calendar, with more Super 1000, Super 750, and Super 500 tournaments, bringing greater prize money opportunities for players.

BWF is now delighted to reveal the prestigious HSBC BWF World Tour Finals will head to Hangzhou for the entire cycle.

Hangzhou is home of the 19th Asian Games and is the perfect location for international badminton’s showpiece event. The 2023 edition will take place from 13-17 December.

BWF Secretary General Thomas Lund thanked Chinese Badminton Association (CBA) and the Hangzhou City Government for their commitment to the sport.

“It is with great excitement to confirm Hangzhou, China as the host of our flagship HSBC BWF World Tour Finals for this cycle,” Lund said.

“Badminton is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world with all-time high participation and fan numbers and Hangzhou with its superb sporting infrastructure and experience in staging elite international events is an ideal host for our finals.

“We look forward to the tour’s top eight players and pairs in each category fighting it out for glory in front of thousands of passionate fans.”

Chinese Badminton Association President, and BWF Chair of Events, Zhang Jun, added: “We are delighted to work with the BWF and Hangzhou City Government to bring the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals to China.

“With its profound history and popularity here, badminton activities are ubiquitous in Hangzhou. It is an honour for the local government to be the host for the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals. And all top players around the world are welcomed to gather in the city.”

Further details on the 2023 edition of HSBC BWF World Tour Finals will be released in the coming weeks.

The 42nd edition of BWF Newsletter Shuttle World is now available for download.

We preview the TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2023 as well as introduce key speakers for the upcoming World Coaching Conference.

We also recap World Badminton Day and the BWF AGM and Members’ Forum.

Edition 42 – August 2023

• Milestones Aplenty – Message from the President
• Looking to Rewrite History – World Championships
• Copenhagen 2014 – the Crowning of Carolina
• BWF Continues CSR Outreach
• Milestone for Inclusive Badminton
• World Coaching Conference – 24 & 25 August
• Eye on the Future – BWF Members’ Forum
• New Deals for BWF
• Quarter 2 Updates
• Dream come True for Refugee Shuttler
• ‘Most Memorable’ says Zhang Jun

We hope you enjoy reading this edition.

世界羽毛球联合会（BWF）宣布2022汇丰世界羽联世界巡回赛总决赛将不继续在中国广州举办。

赛事将迁往泰国曼谷Nimibutr体育馆举办，由于场馆档期和比赛地变更，比赛日期为12月7日至11日，比广州原计划日期提前一周。

世界羽联经与中国羽毛球协会（CBA）协商后同意，鉴于目前疫情形势带来的各种挑战，易地举办2022汇丰世界羽联世界巡回赛总决赛。

世界羽联感谢中国羽毛球协会、广州市政府和广州市体育局所作的出色工作。

世界羽联还要感谢泰国羽毛球协会在这么短的时间内为2022汇丰世界羽联世界巡回赛总决赛提供替代举办地点。

2022汇丰世界羽联世界巡回赛总决赛的参赛运动员名单将在11月22日澳大利亚公开赛结束后确认。

世界羽联确认，2022年汇丰世界羽联世界巡回赛总决赛将于12月14日至18日在广州举办。这是继2019年之后，中国大陆首次举办国际羽毛球巡回赛。

本赛季各单项最顶尖的八位/组球员将在广州天河体育馆标志性的红色地胶上争夺赛季末的最高荣誉，以及羽毛球史上最高的奖金池——150万美元。

世界羽联秘书长托马斯·伦德表示，国际羽毛球巡回赛再次回到中国对这项运动来说是积极的一步。

伦德说：“汇丰世界羽联世界巡回赛总决赛是我们一年中最重要的赛事之一，我们很高兴能与中国羽协、广州市政府和我们的主要合作伙伴汇丰银行合作，将总决赛带回广州。”

“我们也感谢中国政府向世界顶级羽毛球运动员发出邀请，我们仍然有信心，我们的东道主将以最高标准为运动员提供安全和舒适的总决赛。”

“广州已经在2018年和2019年举办了两届精彩的汇丰世界羽联世界巡回赛总决赛，我们期待着为中国的球迷们再次举办一场羽球盛会。”

赛季缩短

即将在10月和11月举行的巡回赛是球员们争夺总决赛积分的最后机会，伦德也确认了2022中国常州公开赛(超级1000)和2022中国福州公开赛(超级750)已被取消。

伦德表示：“遗憾的是，原本在常州和福州举办两站公开赛的计划将无法推进。对于羽毛球界来说，这是至关重要的一年，我们非常自豪能够举办汇丰世界羽联世界巡回赛的绝大部分比赛。现在的焦点转向了未来几周将举办的汇丰世界羽联世界巡回赛和赛季末的总决赛，在未来几周球员们将为了更多的积分而奋战。”

2022年道达尔能源世界羽联羽毛球世锦赛五个单项决赛选手全部产生。中国队在女单、女双和混双项目中各获一个决赛席位，分别是：陈雨菲、陈清晨/贾一凡和郑思维/黄雅琼。其中陈雨菲击败戴资颖，中国队女单时隔八年重返世锦赛决赛。

中国男单选手赵俊鹏以20-22、6-21不敌泰国选手昆拉武特，无缘决赛，获得其职业生涯第一块世锦赛铜牌。昆拉武特成为了世界羽联世锦赛男单决赛中第一位泰国选手，将在决赛中面对安赛龙。

昆拉武特赛后采访时说道：“我很高兴，这是我第二次参加世锦赛。在第一局比赛中我确实犯了一些错误，但在第二局比赛中我可以很好地控制球。我的注意力集中在控制上，因为球场有风。我期待着在决赛中与安赛龙交手。我想向他学习，他是如何在每场比赛中都打得那么好。我没有压力，因为他是最受欢迎的。”

另一场男单半决赛，安赛龙以2-0的战绩击败了周天成，在第二局14比16落后的情况下，安赛龙积极调整心态，并在接下来的8分中拿下了7分，终结了比赛的悬念。

“我很高兴我在第二局比赛中取得了进步。对手给了我很大的困难，但在精神上，我成功地加快了步伐，这意味着我可以赢得比赛。我告诉自己，我必须专注于每一分，认真防守。我做到了，并且赢得了一些关键的分数。”关于决赛，安赛龙说：“我对自己现在的状态非常满意，我很享受。我不会考虑谁是弱者，谁不是。我期待着明天一场精彩的比赛。这将是艰难的。”

女单决赛将由奥运会冠军陈雨菲对阵卫冕冠军山口茜。半决赛中，陈雨菲以15-21丢掉首局后，以21-14、21-18连扳两局，成为李雪芮在2014年世锦赛获得亚军以后，首位打入女单决赛的中国队选手。山口茜在另外一场比赛中快速战胜了韩国选手安洗莹，晋级决赛。

陈雨菲在赛后采访时表示：“因为这次比赛球比较慢，在场上对抗的拍数会很多，自己在比赛中一直没有放弃，通过多拍相持去逼迫对手失误。”谈到决赛，陈雨菲坦言“全力以赴展示最好的自己，不留遗憾。”

女双比赛中，头号种子陈清晨/贾一凡迎战日本组合松本麻佑/永原和可那，陈清晨/贾一凡以21-13、21-14击败曾同为两届世锦赛冠军的松本麻佑/永原和可那，将与韩国组合金昭映/孔熙容争夺冠军，后者在半决赛中以2-1险胜泰国组合菩提塔/沙西丽。

混双半决赛，头号种子郑思维/黄雅琼经过三局苦战，以21-16、12-21、21-10战胜了队友王懿律/黄东萍，第三次闯入决赛。他们决赛的对手是日本组合渡边勇大/东野有纱。

中国羽毛球双打传奇赵芸蕾入选2022年世界羽毛球联合会（BWF）名人堂，一同入选的还有与其同时代征战羽坛的印尼双打名将莉莉亚娜·纳西尔。

赵芸蕾是她那个时代最全能的双打运动员。 在很长一段时间内，她在混双和女双两个项目中的统治地位无人能及。退役后， 她成为了史上最优秀的羽毛球运动员之一——细数她职业生涯中所获得的冠军头衔，包括两枚奥运会金牌和五枚世锦赛金牌。

世界羽毛球联合会主席保罗·埃里克·霍耶对赵芸蕾入选BWF名人堂表示祝贺。

他说，“入选世界羽联名人堂是对羽毛球运动员最大的致敬。名人堂旨在表彰精英中的精英，赵芸蕾当之无愧地占有一席之地。赢得奥运会或世锦赛金牌是大多数运动员的梦想，而赵芸蕾取得了这两项大赛的双冠王，这是一项了不起的成就。”

Click Here for the BWF Hall of Fame Honour Roll

赵芸蕾将于2022年6月24日周五下午两点举办的线上典礼和媒体活动中正式被官方授誉。

世界羽毛球联合会(以下简称：BWF)的2024年巴黎奥运会参赛资格规则已经得到国际奥委会(以下简称：IOC)的批准。巴黎奥运会积分周期将于2023年5月1日开始持续到2024年4月28日，以2024年4月30日的奥运积分排名名单来确定。

羽毛球参赛总名额为172个(男86个，女86个)，除常规名额(166个)外，还包括2个主办国名额和4个额外名额。每个国家或地区协会派出的男女运动员的名额都不得超过8个。

单打

在每个单打项目中，国家或地区协会至少需要两位球员排在奥运积分前16位，才能获得两个满额参赛名额。共有35个名额，一个东道国名额，两个额外名额。额外名额将在资格期结束后由三方委员会确定。每个单打项目还必须至少有两名来自五大洲协会的运动员，前提是他们的排名在前250名之内。

双打

在每个双打项目中，国家或地区协会至少需要两组球员排在奥运积分前8位，才能获得两个满额参赛名额。每个双打项目还必须至少有一对来自五大洲协会的运动员，前提是他们的排名在前50名之内。

考虑到所有项目的参赛资格，没有任何国家或地区协会可以在单个项目中派出超过2组以上运动员。

在国际奥委会官网上查看已批准的2024年巴黎奥运会参赛资格规则。

世界羽联确认将有大批印尼选手退出将于12月12日在西班牙韦尔瓦举行的2021道达尔能源世锦赛。

印尼羽毛球协会(PBSI)周三上午宣布了这一消息，表达了与新冠肺炎疫情相关的担忧。还有一小部分印尼选手仍在签表中。

世界羽联对PBSI的决定感到失望，并对在抽签后退出感到遗憾。

然而，世界羽联和西班牙羽毛球联合会目前正根据地方和国家卫生当局制定的建议和措施，包括针对所有运动员、团队官员和主要利益攸关方的一套全面的安全协议，集中精力举办一场安全、成功的世锦赛。

此外男单卫冕冠军、世界第二桃田贤斗因伤退出比赛，世界羽联也确认了这一不幸消息。桃田贤斗还退出了上周的2021汇丰世界羽联世界巡回赛总决赛，并已返回日本。

混双7号种子陈炳顺和吴柳莹在搭档13年后宣布解散，并退出世锦赛。

大多数球员现在已经安全抵达韦尔瓦并进入了“安全泡泡”。第一轮比赛将于当地时间周日上午10点开始。目前没有重新抽签的计划。

2021尤尼克斯法国公开赛男双决赛中，韩国老将组合高成炫/申白喆击败了世界排名第一吉迪恩/苏卡穆约，自2019年澳大利亚公开赛后再次夺得男双冠军。

这是属于两位老将的标志性胜利，他们用韩国的传统打法击败了世界最顶级的男双组合。34岁的高成炫和32岁的申白喆是2016年里约奥运会后退役的几对顶级男双选手之一；他们于2018年复出，但复出之旅磕磕绊绊。与此同时，小黄人组合将自己塑造成里约后男双一代的佼佼者。

但韩国老将今天的表现表明，他们的技术仍旧是最顶级的；不管对手的什么球，他们都用顽强的防守化解；他们调动苏卡穆约让他无法发挥前场的实力，当机会来临时，他们由守转攻一击制胜。

高成炫获得了他的第三个法国公开赛冠军(前两次分别搭档李龙大和金荷娜），申白喆获得了他的第一个法国公开赛冠军。“在来这里之前，我们都不认为我们能赢，”高成炫说。“每次胜利后，我们都感觉更好，今天我们超级开心。几年前我们离开了国家队，在疫情之后，这是我们第一次进入高级别赛事决赛，所以这对我们来说真的很重要。”

“与年轻选手相比，我们体能限制很大，所以很难跟上他们。我们有经验，这对我们今天很有帮助。这取决于具体情况。也许今天我们的处理得比对手好。他们真的是很好的球员。很难把他们和我们同时代的人相比。即使在那时，也有很多人比我们更好。”

申白喆说：“我们没有任何遗憾。但在我们不打球的那段时间里，我们对自己的未来感到不安。现在我们很高兴我们今天做到了。这是我第一次在法国参加决赛，所以意义重大。在这之后，我们将对未来的重大比赛更有信心。”

他们的的同胞李绍熙和申昇瓒早些时候以21-17、21-12击败队友金昭映/孔熙容获得了女双冠军，继2019年后再次登上最高领奖台。

Click here for results

2021道达尔能源世界羽联苏迪曼杯总决赛决赛中，卫冕冠军中国队以3-1击败日本队，第12次捧起苏迪曼杯。

纵观全场比赛，双方都展现了超强水准，年轻的球员们表现出了与久经沙场的球星们一样的抗压能力。在上一届苏迪曼杯上，日本队以0-3被中国队击败，这次他们试图推翻这一结果，但他们不得不再次区居亚军。

中国队教练张军谈到了对年轻队员的信任，以及他们在这场重大赛事中坚守立场的能力。让一位球员上两个单项的计划被搁置，中国选择了何济霆和周昊东参加男双。

结果如愿以偿。保木卓朗/小林优吾在一个多小时的时间里与中国的年轻队员进行了战斗，但日本人错误地过度依赖防守。在比赛的最后阶段，何济霆/周昊东始终保持着进攻的活力，帮助中国队取得了领先。

“我们在四分之一决赛中输给了丹麦，我们吸取了教训——我们试着更有耐心，”周昊东说。

在上届苏迪曼杯决赛中，山口茜输给了陈雨菲。今天山口一心要进攻。日本人不愿意在对抗赛中留下遗憾，她保持着陈雨菲难以跟上的速度。即使当她的对手找到空档时，山口茜也依靠着顽强的跑动进行补救。正是这种更顽强的风格帮助山口茜赢得了比赛，因为陈雨菲在其他方面还是一如既往的精确和稳定。

“上一届苏迪曼杯我也是同样的情况，但我输了，所以我不想重蹈覆辙。而且，她是奥运会金牌得主，所以我决定挑战她。”山口说。“我只是想打一场稳定的比赛。我知道她打了几场长时间的比赛，一定会累的。我没有打过这么多长时间的比赛，所以我很有活力。”

在一场高质量的开局之后，男单比赛出现了最令人好奇的转折。开局似乎消耗了石宇奇太多精力，因此他放弃了第二局，把所有精力留到第三局上。无论是这一周累积的疲劳，还是仅仅精神上的压力，桃田贤斗又一次输了。世界第一面对石宇奇的不断高强度进攻，并没有什么办法能够应对，最终石宇奇以2-1击败对手，使中国队以2-1领先。

桃田否认疲劳是他在第三局比赛中有点无精打采的原因。“我被对手的进攻能力压垮了，所以我输了。我没有那么累，但我找不到赢球的方法。”

石宇奇在庆祝他2019年7月受伤复出后的最佳时刻时，承诺要比受伤前更好。“我放弃了第二局以恢复我的体力。我必须把所有的精力都放在第三局比赛上。我有90%的最佳状态。赢得比赛是一件很棒的事情，但我的目标不是回到以前的水平——我要达到以前水平的120% !”

日本最后的希望寄托在女双临时组合上，松本麻佑/松友美佐纪给陈清晨/贾一凡造成了不小的麻烦。中国组合一路经受着考验，她们表现出了出色的气质，关键时刻下手更加果断。

随着21-17 21-16的胜利，苏迪曼杯留在了中国。“奥运会之后,这个冠军让我们可以再次激励我们的队员，”张军说，“我们本届苏杯男双阵容上不是最完美的，对泰国和丹麦我们有一些困难，但我们决定让年轻球员上场，我们信任他们的能力，他们今天做的很好。”
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2021道达尔能源世界羽联苏迪曼杯总决赛 第三比赛日中，桃田贤斗率领的日本队5-0击败英格兰队，将与马来西亚队争夺小组头名位置。

在东京奥运会小组赛阶段被淘汰之后，球迷对桃田的状态充满了好奇。今天，在D组日本对阵英格兰的比赛中，渡边勇大/东野有纱帮助日本取得领先后，桃田贤斗在与世界排名第205位的托尔森的比赛中，看上去与巅峰时期的状态还相距甚远。

日本人经常被托尔森的杀直线所击溃，这位22岁的英格兰球员打得非常轻松，然而最后一记发球将优势拱手让给了桃田，他在第一局比赛中获得了信心，并在没有进一步失误的情况下结束了比赛。

“一开始我非常紧张，无法发挥自己的能力。接近第二局的时候，我让自己冷静下来，控制住自己的比赛。”

“我希望在专注度方面有所提高。我今天很紧张，不能专注于一件事。不过，好在我能让自己冷静下来。”

托尔森说，他对自己的表现感到惊讶。

“这对我来说绝对是一个惊喜，我不知道他是否感到紧张。很高兴看到我的扣杀能够穿透他的防守。我认为这对我来说绝对是一个巨大的信心助推器，能够在与世界上最好的球员的比赛中取得这样的成绩。我想在未来面对每一个球员时都这样做。”

本·莱恩和文迪不敌古贺辉/斋藤太一，没能阻止日本队。 山口茜以21-16/21-12击败霍尔顿，之后志田千阳/松山奈未在与布里奇/史密斯的比赛中直落两局，帮助日本队5-0完胜英格兰队。

在另一场B组比赛中，马来西亚以5比0击败埃及，而在B组中，中华台北以5比0击败德国，韩国以同样的优势击败了塔希提岛。

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World Junior champion Alwi Farhan has been named to Indonesia’s Thomas Cup squad for the TotalEnergies BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2024 in Chengdu.

Farhan, who won the junior title in Spokane (USA) last October, has had an encouraging start to his senior career, making the semifinals of the YONEX-SUNRISE Odisha Masters (Super 100) in December. At No.62, he is the fourth-highest ranked Indonesian, behind Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, Jonatan Christie and Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo.

Meanwhile, Japan have named 17-year-old prodigy Tomoka Miyazaki, World Junior champion in 2022 and semifinalist last year, to their Uber Cup squad.

Miyazaki has had a brilliant start to her senior career, winning the Orleans Masters (Super 300) last month and finishing runner-up at the Korea Masters (Super 300) in November 2023. Miyazaki has already beaten top players like Pusarla V Sindhu, Aya Ohori and Nozomi Okuhara.

Miyazaki will accompany her senior singles compatriots Akane Yamaguchi, Aya Ohori, Nozomi Okuhara and doubles players Chiharu Shida, Nami Matsuyama, Mayu Matsumoto, Wakana Nagahara, Rena Miyaura and Ayako Sakuramoto to her first Uber Cup.

Japan have also picked former two-time world champion Kento Momota to the Thomas Cup team. Momota accompanies Kodai Naraoka, Kenta Nishimoto and Koki Watanabe in singles. The familiar name missing is Kanta Tsuneyama, who hasn’t won a match in six tournaments this year.

Hosts China have formidable teams in both competitions, with all their top stars at their service. Shi Yu Qi and Li Shi Feng will be backed by Lu Guang Zu and Weng Hong Yang in men’s singles, while in the Uber Cup, recent Badminton Asia Championships winner Wang Zhi Yi will feature alongside Chen Yu Fei, He Bing Jiao and Han Yue.

Denmark have a couple of fresh faces in Magnus Johannesen – who beat Lee Zii Jia at the YONEX French Open 2024 – and Jesper Toft, who reached the recent 2024 European Championships men’s doubles final with Andreas Sondergaard.

Thomas Cup champions India have their match-winners from Bangkok two years ago, while Uber Cup champions Korea will rely on An Se Young to lead the way. The notable name missing in the team is world No.14 Kim Ga Eun; singles responsibilities will therefore pass on to No.38 Sim Yu Jin, No.73 Kim Ga Ram and teen Kim Min Sun, who won a double (women’s singles and women’s doubles) at the BAT YONEX Pathumthani Junior International Series last December.

The Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2024 start in Chengdu on Saturday 27 April.

Click here for team lists

Please see attached the following documents in readiness for the AGM 2024:

1. AGM Agenda – updated 15.04.2024
2. Annexure D1 – Guidelines to the Council Proposal – Commercial Organisations
3. Annexure E1 – Final Report – Independent Appointment Body (IAB)
4. Annexure E2 – Final Report – Independent Vetting Panel (IVP)

All AGM information is on the AGM page of the BWF website

1. AGM Agenda – Updated 15 April 2024

There have been a number of updates to the agenda for the AGM – see below and attached.

What has changed in the agenda?

• Council Proposal 4.1 – amendments to the BWF Constitution (Annexure D). The amendments to the Constitution have been divided into 5 separate voting rounds:
• Items 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4 and 4.5.
• New Annexure D1 – Guide to Council Proposal – Amendments to Clause 23 – Commercial Organisatons (attached). See below for a description.
• New Item 4.2 – Before the deadline for amendments to proposals on 22 March, the BWF received an amendment from Badminton England. This is included as Item 4.2 together with the rationale for the amendment.
• New Item 5.2 – To receive the Final Report from the Independent Appointment Body (IAB) – Annexure E1 (attached), and Final Report of the Independent Vetting Panel (IVP) – Annexure E2 (attached).

2. Annexure D1 – Guide to the Council Proposal

Item 4.3 is a proposal to amend Clause 23 of the BWF Constitution. Clause 23 gives the BWF AGM the authority to establish a commercial organisation as a subsidiary.

The proposal to amend Clause 23 of the BWF Constitution (Item 4.3 on the agenda) would give the Council the authority to establish a subsidiary commercial organisation if passed by the AGM on 27 April in Chengdu.

This Guide will help you understand:

1. Why this is an important step to consider at this stage of BWF’s development;
2. Why the Council is the appropriate body to guide and decide on the new commercial structure that would fit best for the future of the BWF and our sport;
3. What are the technical requirements for a commercial organisation to be established;
4. The risks to BWF as an institution, which needs to continue to regulate and develop the sport globally.

3. Annexure E1 and Annexure E2

These two annexure are part of a new item – 5.2 on the agenda.

• To receive the Final Report from the Independent Appointment Body (IAB) – Annexure E1 (attached), and Final Report of the Independent Vetting Panel (IVP) – Annexure E2 (attached).
• See background information about the role of the IAB and the IVP (linked here)

4. Urgent Reminder to Delegates

Please check with your Association to make sure the below have been completed – these are essential – if not it is urgent you do this today.

1. Transport / Pick Up Form – completed and send to [email protected] – download the form from AGM page of the BWF website
2. Accreditation Form – completed the accreditation form and send to [email protected] NOTE – EVERY delegate and observer must do this – download the form from AGM page of the BWF website.
3. Book your hotel room – see our Notice of 22 February (linked here) for all the details. Use a manual process now – download the form from AGM page of the BWF website – Option 2 Manual Booking Form. Complete this and send to [email protected]

Copy Patricia [email protected] when you send in these forms.

5. Delegate Nomination Form

Delegate Nomination Form – complete this (download from AGM page of the BWF website) and send to Patricia [email protected] if you have not done so.

6. Observers

Please contact Patricia [email protected] to register observers. Please note that observers must also complete the Accreditation form attached and submit this to the AGM host in Chengdu [email protected]

7. Contact for the AGM

All information on the AGM 2024 is published on the BWF corporate website.

Please contact Patricia Wong [email protected] if you have any question on nominations, transport or the hotel.

The 2024 European Championships finished on a high for France as they completed their best-ever haul, with two gold and a silver.

A day after Thom Gicquel/Delphine Delrue had won France’s first gold medal, Margot Lambert and Anne Tran followed their example on Sunday, recovering from a game down to get the better of defending champions and three-time winners Gabriela Stoeva/Stefani Stoeva.

These were France’s first titles in the 56-year history of the championships.

“It’s impressive, because yesterday was the first gold medal for France and we brought the second one today. So it’s a great feeling and it’s history,” said Lambert.

“No words right now… just amazing,” said her partner Anne Tran. “The match was very tough and long… we were down one game and we weren’t so good in the game, and then we managed to fight back, and to change the way, so very happy about that.

“We know them quite well, we’ve played them a few times. We knew what we had to do and we had a good gameplan. To end the (Olympic) Race to Paris like that is fantastic. To end it with a win, we couldn’t have asked for more.”

There were no other surprises on finals day. Carolina Marin kicked off proceedings with a 21-11-21-18 result over Kirsty Gilmour, extending her reign to a decade, having won her first European Championships in 2014.

“I feel extremely happy that I won my eighth European gold medal. It’s easy to say, but very difficult to stay on the way and keep working hard year after year.

“I think I’m 50-50 (satisfied), I’m not satisfied 100 per cent, because in the second game I was out of the things that I could do. Sometimes you feel nervous, and you need to keep the focus. This is something I want to improve on.”

Denmark split final day honours with France with two gold medals. Toma Junior Popov, who pulled off the upset of the tournament beating top seed Viktor Axelsen in the semifinals, faded out against Anders Antonsen in the second game after a tight opening game, 21-18 21-13.

“It feels amazing,” said Antonsen, after winning his second title. “Feel super proud to get another win this year. It was a tough week, even though I played only straight games this week.

“I was nervous throughout the whole thing, especially in the end of the first game. Both of us were tense at times in this match.”

Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen also won their second title, taking just 35 minutes against compatriots Andreas Sondergaard/Jesper Toft, 21-16 21-15.

→Results

Jonatan Christie’s brilliant form continued to hold as he captured the BANK OF NINGBO Badminton Asia Championships 2024 title, following up on his recent YONEX All England crown.

The world No.5 beat Asian Games champion Li Shi Feng 21-15 21-16 to retain Indonesia’s hold on the title, which was won last year by his compatriot Anthony Sinisuka Ginting.

“I played well throughout the championships, and I hope I can continue this good form into the Thomas Cup,” said Christie. “It was a very special experience for me to beat Li Shi Feng and Shi Yu Qi on their home court and I hope I can keep up this good form.”

China finished with three titles, through Wang Zhi Yi in women’s singles and Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang in men’s doubles and Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping in the mixed.

Wang Zhi Yi broke a two-year spell of going without a major title – indeed, her last title win of this level was the Badminton Asia Championships in 2022.

Facing Chen Yu Fei, whom she hadn’t beaten in eight previous meetings, Wang won a close first game after which Chen’s challenge collapsed.

“The moment you get the championship is a feeling of release, because it is indeed very difficult. Also, I never beaten Chen Yu Fei. The breakthrough win is like a release. I feel like I did it, I can do it,” said the winner.

All England champions Baek Ha Na/Lee So Hee stopped home pair Zhang Shu Xian/Zheng Yu 23-21 21-12 to win Korea’s first title in the category since 2005.

“I’m glad that we won the Asian Championships in China beating Chinese players in the semifinals and finals,” said Lee So Hee. “I expected it to be a tough match beforehand, and I’m happy to win this difficult match.

→Results

Kevin Cordon won his fourth men’s singles title at the Pan Am Championships yesterday – 15 years after he’d won his first.

It was in 2009 that the Guatemalan first surged to the top – both in men’s singles and men’s doubles (with Rodolfo Ramirez). Incidentally, the previous year, he’d won bronze in men’s singles and silver in men’s doubles.

Yesterday, on home turf at the YONEX Pan Am Individual Badminton Championships 2024, the 38-year-old recovered from a game down to beat surprise finalist Uriel Francisco Canjura Artiga 14-21 21-17 21-13 for his fifth Pan Am title overall.

USA’s Beiwen Zhang took the women’s singles title staving off the challenge from Canada’s Michelle Li 21-18 18-21 21-17.

Double for Smith, Lee

Presley Smith and Allison Lee achieved a double to help USA dominate the Pan Am Championships with four titles overall.

Smith and Lee overcame the loss of the opening game in the mixed doubles final to beat compatriots Vinson Chiu/Jennie Gai 15-21 21-15 21-14.

Lee returned for the women’s doubles with Francesca Corbett, and the world No.35 duo beat second seeds Annie Xu/Kerry Xu, ranked two places above them, 21-14 21-15.

Smith was on court for the day’s last match with Chen Zhi Yi. The USA world No.60 pair beat world No.35 Adam Dong/Nyl Yakura of Canada 21-14 21-11.

→Results

Toma Junior Popov stunned world No.1 Viktor Axelsen to enter the final of the 2024 European Championships and guarantee himself of a spot at Paris 2024.

Popov stands on the verge of making history as the first Frenchman to win the men’s singles, but he faces 2021 champion Anders Antonsen in the final.

Popov had never taken a game off Axelsen in three previous meetings, and he broke the jinx with a narrow first game win. Axelsen bounced back to force a decider, but fell behind after 7-all, with Popov running away with the match after the interval, 21-19 17-21 21-9.

In the other semifinal, Antonsen stopped surprise semifinalist Joakim Oldorff 21-11 21-11.

Gicquel/Delue Win Gold

In the only final played on Saturday, Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue made history as the first gold medallists from France.

The French duo beat Mathias Christiansen/Alexandra Boje 21-16 21-15.

Other Highlights
» France have a shot at the women’s doubles gold as well, with Anne Tran/Margot Lambert making the title round against Gabriela Stoeva/Stefani Stoeva.

» Men’s doubles saw an upset, with Andreas Sondergaard/Jesper Toft beating second seeds Rasmus Kjaer/Frederik Sogaard.

» In women’s singles, Kirsty Gilmour has the opportunity to make history as the first women’s singles winner from Scotland when she takes on six-time winner Carolina Marin.

→Results

Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin made the biggest final of their career as they beat compatriots Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik to enter the final of the BANK OF NINGBO Badminton Asia Championships 2024.

Until now, their previous best had been finals at the HSBC BWF World Tour Super 300 level.

The world No.19 pair, who are yet to win a title this season, continued their great run through the tournament, having earlier beaten world champions Kang Min Hyuk/Seo Seung Jae, He Ji Ting/Ren Xiang Yu and Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin. Nur/Izzuddin had suffered five straight defeats to Chia/Soh before they turned it around today, 21-14 21-18.

In the final they face home pair Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang, who outplayed Lee Jhe-Huei/Yang Po-Hsuan in straight games.

After winning 13 of 14 matches in the quarterfinals, it was a more down-to-earth day for hosts China, with top seeds Shi Yu Qi and Zheng Si Wei/Huang Ya Qiong falling.

Shi was taken down in three games by All England champion Jonatan Christie, who made his second straight final.

Zheng/Huang, on a run of six straight wins over world champions Seo Seung Jae/Chae Yu Jung, ran out of steam against the Koreans, 9-21 21-13 21-16.

China still have a chance at sweeping all five titles, and are already assured of the women’s singles, with Chen Yu Fei taking on Wang Zhi Yi.

With He Bing Jiao and Han Yu – who are in a close race in the Race to Paris – both losing the semifinals, He Bing Jiao retained her narrow lead over her compatriot.

→Results (Semifinals)
→Order of Play (Finals)

USA’s Annie Xu/Kerry Xu consolidated their status as frontrunners in the Race to Paris after making the women’s doubles final of the XXVII YONEX Pan Am Individual Championships 2024.

With close challengers Catherine Choi/Josephine Wu falling in the other semifinal to Francesca Corbett/Allison Lee, the Xu twins will hold their spot as the top pair from Pan Am when the qualification period ends.

There was a double blow for Josephine Wu, who was also in the running for a mixed doubles spot at the Olympics with Ty Alexander Lindeman. The Canadians were beaten earlier in the day by USA’s Presley Smith/Allison Lee, 21-11 21-16, which enabled another USA pair, Vinson Chiu/Jennie Gai, to overhaul the difference in ranking points and climb ahead as Pan Am’s top mixed doubles pair in the Race to Paris.

Both Presley Smith and Allison Lee earned a shot at a double title, with Smith making the men’s doubles final with Chen Zhi Yi and Corbett/Lee facing off against the Xu sisters in the title round.

There was a third blow for Canada, with top seed Brian Yang upset 21-16 21-15 by El Salvador’s Uriel Francisco Canjura Artiga for the first time in six encounters. Artigal will become the first Pan Am champion from his country if he beats three-time former champion Kevin Cordon.

There were no surprises in women’s singles, with top seed Beiwen Zhang and second seed Michelle Li taking their spots in the final.

→Results (Semifinals) 
→Order of Play (Finals)

Finland’s Joakim Oldorff and Turkiye’s Bengisu Ercetin/Nazlıcan Inci created a sensation in the quarterfinals of the 2024 European Championships by upsetting higher-rated rivals.

World No.69 Oldorff ambushed No.46 Alex Lanier of France 21-12 21-19 in 45 minutes to set up a semifinal against second seed Anders Antonsen, who survived a tenacious challenge from another Frenchman, Arnaud Merkle, 24-22 27-25.

“At the moment, I’m speechless, but I’m happy and excited,” Oldorff told Badminton Europe.

“Of course I knew it will be a tough match. Alex is a good player, and I was nervous, but I handled it well. I just focussed on doing the right things. I thought I didn’t need to change anything. I will prepare the same as before for the semifinals. To me, I feel like I didn’t do anything that I can’t do on court. For some people it might seem like a surprise, but I’m confident this is my level.”

The top half of the draw will see Viktor Axelsen against Toma Junior Popov.

Meanwhile, women’s doubles saw Turkiye win a medal, with Ercetin and Inci knocking out top seeds Maiken Fruergaard/Sara Thygesen.

After losing the opening game, Ercetin and Inci held their nerve in a tense second before easing home comfortably in the end, 16-21 21-19 21-13.

“This is a historic day for Turkish badminton, as the Danes are very good players and we won, and we are happy with our performance. We just wanted to play, and we didn’t want to think of a loss or the medal,” said Inci.

Turkiye will also feature in the women’s singles semifinals as Neslihan Arin beat France’s Rosy Oktavia Pancasari in straight games to earn a last-four place against Kirsty Gilmour.

Eighth seed Julie Dawall Jakobsen knocked out third seed Line Kjaersfeldt to earn a showdown against Carolina Marin.

Christiansen/Boje in Final

In the only semifinals played on the day, Mathias Christiansen/Alexandra Boje held off Robin Tabeling/Selena Piek in a 71-minute thriller, with the Danes coming through 25-23 21-23 21-18.

They will face Thom Gicquel/Delphine Delrue, who too were taken the distance by Mathias Thyrri/Amalie Magelund 22-20 16-21 21-13.

→Results

China swamped their opposition in the quarterfinals of the BANK OF NINGBO Badminton Asia Championships 2024, winning 13 of 14 matches.

They particularly dominated the women’s singles, assuring themselves of gold with four home players in the semifinals.

The big result on the day was top seed An Se Young’s upset by He Bing Jiao, preventing the Korean from winning one of the few titles to elude her so far. He Bing Jiao broke a sequence of seven straight losses to An with the 21-17 21-18 result, earning a last-four place against Wang Zhi Yi. The other semifinal will see second seed Chen Yu Fei against sixth seed Han Yue after Chen held off Gregoria Mariska Tunjung and Han scored her first win over Akane Yamaguchi in six career meetings.

“Before the match, I’d done a lot of preparation for the difficulties I would encounter, including the mental challenges,” said He Bing Jiao. “Today, I played quite patient and made few mistakes. I’m very happy to win after so many consecutive losses.”

An Se Young acknowledged she had been outplayed.

“I didn’t get used to the court well today and made a lot of mistakes. He Bing Jiao played so well that it affected my confidence. She was confident today. I must work hard to improve myself.”

The only match out of 14 that China lost was in men’s doubles, with Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik dismissing Liu Yu Chen/Ou Xuan Yi 21-14 21-15. With their compatriots Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izzuddin edging past Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin 19-21 21-19 21-19, it will be an all-Malaysian semifinal.

The other half will see in-form Chinese Taipei duo Lee Jhe-Huei/Yang Po-Hsuan against home pair Wang Chang/Liang Wei Keng.

Other Highlights

» Top seed Shi Yu Qi beat world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn for the third straight time, 22-20 21-13, to set up a showdown with Jonatan Christie.

» All England champion Christie stopped a sequence of four straight losses to Lee Zii Jia, demolishing his challenge in 34 minutes, 21-11 21-6.

→Results (Quarterfinals)
→Order of Play (Semifinals)