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Badminton World Federation (BWF)
SportHong Kong

BWF World Tour Finals: Hong Kong pair Tang and Tse face top mixed-doubles seeds in tough start to year-end event

  • Tang Chun-man and Tse Ying-suet placed in Group B alongside top ranked Chinese team of Zheng Siwei and Huang YaQiong
  • Hongkongers returning to event in Hangzhou for first time since Asian Games appearance in September

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Tse Ying-suet (left) and mixed-doubles partner Tang Chun-man in action at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. Photo: Dickson Lee
Mike Chan

Hong Kong badminton pair Tang Chun-man and Tse Ying-suet have been handed a tough draw ahead of the BWF World Tour Finals after qualifying as the only players from the city.

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The mixed doubles pair, who are ranked seventh this week, will begin their quest in Group B on Wednesday against Chinese world No 1s Zheng Siwei and Huang YaQiong, before facing South Koreans Seo Seung-jae and Chau Yu-jung, as well as Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun.

Rank tenth in the world, Tang and Tse have been steadily improving since their disappointing showing at the Asian Games, reaching the French Open Final in late October before ending their four-year title wait at the HYLO Open in Germany a week later.

A semi-final appearance at the China Masters last month earned them a spot at the year-end tournament. They previously took part in 2021, and reached the final in 2017.

Returning to Hangzhou for the first time since failing to reach the last eight at the Games in September, the pair need to finish in the top two Group B to reach the semi-finals.

Japan’s Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino, who are ranked second in the world, should fancy their chances in Group A, although they will face a tough fight against host pair Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping of China, Thailand duo Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai, as well as Malaysians Chen Tang-jie and Toh Ee-wei.

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