IBM_March_2016

Dubai BWF World SuperSeries Finals:
An Indication of the Future?
Chris and Gabrielle Adcock
But events didn’t turn out the way the spectators, mainly Indian
workers, had hoped: none of their favourite players, including
Saina Nehwal, made it past the group stage. World Champion
Carolina Marin, who was making her debut in this competition as
she’d been injured last year, barely qualified for the semi-finals,
but was beaten twice by Nozomi Okuhara, the 20-year-old everfighting
Japanese player. The latter then beat Wang Yihan in an
amazing final, finishing the event in tears of joy.
Kento Momota showed tremendous control in the group stages
as well as the semi-final against Jan Ø Jorgensen and again in
the final against Viktor Axelsen, who played below the level he
would have hoped. A year and a half after Japan had entered
history by scooping the Thomas Cup, the Men’s Team World
Championships, their players once again put their marks on the
badminton circuit.
Only One Title For China
That was not the only surprise as the Mixed Doubles competition
saw England’s duo of Chris and Gabrielle Adcock win Gold, along
with a cheque for US$42,000.
The couple had not won any Superseries during 2015 but peaked
at exactly the right time in Dubai, edging Korea’s Ko Sung Hyun
and Kim Ha Na in the final. China’s top seeds Zhang and Zhao
had to withdraw due to Zhao’s injury, which may have helped
Mohammad Ahsan
and Hendra Setiawan
INTERNATIONALBADMINTONMAGAZINE March 2016 | 9
www.isportgroup.com/InternationalBadmintonMagazine