Zheng Siwei (L) and Huang Yaqiong of China compete in the Mixed Double final match against Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongping of China on day six of the Fuzhou China Open at Haixia Olympic Sports Center, Fuzhou, China, November 10, 2019. /VCG Photo
World No. 1 Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong of China are striving for their only missing major badminton title in mixed doubles at the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2019, running from December 11 to 15 in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
The Chinese duo was drawn into a tricky group at the draw ceremony on Monday, and will meet three tough pairs in Group B: Indonesia's Praveen Jordan/Melati Daeva Oktavianti, Hafiz Faizal/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja, and Japan's Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino.
"We are satisfied with the draw since the two Chinese pairs are in different groups," said Zheng, as their compatriots and defending champions Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongping have been allocated to Group A.
"We have lost to the three pairs in the past, and they are all playing well, particularly the Japanese pair, who has been in form recently. We will treat each match like a final. We're confident of winning the title, but during the match, we won't think too much about it," he added.
Zheng and Huang were both listed as nominees for the Badminton World Federation's Player of the Year Awards last week, having won six titles overall, including at the BWF World Championships in 2019.
Huang won her second consecutive Female Player of the Year award in Guangzhou on Monday.
Kento Momota of Japan in action during the Fuzhou China Open at Haixia Olympic Sports Center, Fuzhou, China, November 10, 2019. /VCG Photo
In men's singles, two-time world champion Kento Momota of Japan will compete with Indonesia's Jonatan Christie, Wang Tzu Wei of Chinese Taipei and Anders Antonsen of Denmark in Group A, while home favorite Chen Long is in the "group of death" with Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei, Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and Indonesia's Anthony Ginting.
Chen Yufei of China in action during the Fuzhou China Open at Haixia Olympic Sports Center, Fuzhou, China, November 10, 2019. /VCG Photo
In women's singles, Chinese ace Chen Yufei will reckon with defending champion Pusarla V. Sindhu of India, Akane Yamaguchi from Japan and compatriot He Bingjiao.
The two Chinese women's doubles pairs Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan and Du Yue/Li Yinhui are in the same group with world No. 2 Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota from Japan, while defending champions of men's doubles Li Junhui/Liu Yuchen from China will face serious challenges against top seeds Indonesia's Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and Asian champions Hiroyuki Endo/Yuta Watanabe of Japan.
"I hope the players gain experience here and get better prepared for the Tokyo Games," Chinese Badminton Association President Zhang Jun said.
(With input from Xinhua News Agency)