With the end of the 2023 BWF World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, all the top shuttlers will now roll up their sleeves for the last Super 1000 tournament in the 2023 BWF World Tour, which is the China Open.
With several twists and turns in a few recent tournaments from veterans as well as new stars, badminton fans will be eyeing the China Open with eminent interest. A lot of expectations have been tied to the event because the China Open is the fourth as well as the last Super 1000 tournament of the BWF World Tour in the 2023 calendar year.
The China Open was introduced in 1986 by the Chinese Badminton Association with the name of “China National Badminton Championships”. Since then, 31 editions of the tournament have taken place successfully.
The tournament usually takes place every year in September, however, it still has been cancelled on a number of occasions. The Super 1000 didn’t take place in 1990, 1998, and 2000 for undisclosed reasons while it was halted from 2020 to 2022 due to COVID-19 and other restrictions.
In 2018, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) recognized the tournament as one of the three BWF World Tour Super 1000 events at that time, and since then, the competition has also gone through a set of major changes. The fourth Super 1000 tournament, the Malaysia Open entered the category of BWF World Tour Super 1000 events earlier this year.
Moreover, in the A-Tier hierarchy, the China Open is the third biggest event recognized by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) behind the All England Open and Indonesia Open.
The China Open will be making its comeback after a three-year hiatus and it will have a greater significance for all the top shuttlers around the globe because they’ll be looking forward to grasping the highest points from the last Super 1000 tournament before the BWF World Tour finals.
Dates
The 2023 edition of the China Open will commence on September 5 and the champions of the Super 1000 tournament will be crowned on September 10. The most recent tournament, the BWF World Championships 2023, which was a seven-day mega-event ended on August 27.
Hence, top shuttlers will be getting the time to recover ahead of the last Super 1000 tournament of 2023. The tournament always takes place in September, however, the weeks as well as dates differ, almost every year. Hence, after a gap of three consecutive years, the tournament is again ready to take place in the month of September.
Venues
The China Open will take place in the Olympic Sports Center Xincheng Gymnasium in Changzhou, Jiangsu
The China Open takes place at only one arena, which is the Olympic Sports Center Xincheng Gymnasium in Changzhou, Jiangsu. The indoor sports center was opened in 2008 by the Changzhou Government and since then, it has been the official venue of the BWF World Tour tournament.
The main stadium of the Changzhou Olympic Sports Centre has a total capacity of 38,000 spectators. On the flip side, a total of 6,200 spectators are allowed in the Gymnasium of the renowned sports centre. Moreover, the 2009 World Women’s Handball Championship also took place in the Olympic Sports Center Xincheng Gymnasium.
Format Explainer
Likewise all the other major badminton tournaments organised by the BWF, the China Open also has five traditional categories, that are, Men Singles, Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles, and Mixed Doubles. Every category will feature a total of five knockout rounds, starting from the Round of 32 and eventually ending in the final.
According to the official Badminton World Federation (BWF) regulations, the total prize money of the Super 1000 tournament is US$ 1,250,000. Consequently, the winners will take home a much-increased prize money in the upcoming edition of the China Open. As compared to the prize money in 2019, where the total prize money was US$ 1,000,000, the shuttles will be receiving a 25% increment in singles as well as doubles competition.
Points and Prize distribution tally:
| Points Distribution | Prize Money (Singles) | Prize Money (Doubles) | |
| Winner | 12,000 | $87,500 | $92,500 |
| Runner-up | 10,200 | $42,500 | $43,750 |
| Semi-finalist | 8,400 | $17,500 | $17,500 |
| Quarter-finalist | 6,600 | $6,875 | $7,812.5 |
| Round of 16 | 4,800 | $3,750 | $4,062.5 |
| Round of 32 | 3,000 | $1,250 | $1,250 |
All the shuttlers who are participating in the China Open 2023 have already been seeded and drafted in the first-round fixtures of the Super 1000 tournament. A total of 13 players, including former China Open winners such as PV Sindhu and Srikanth Kidambi, will be representing India’s participation in the tournament.
Star Attractions
The defending champion of the men’s singles event in the China Open, Kento Momota is not a part of the draw for the 2023 edition, hence, the fans will get to see a new shuttler getting crowned on the big stage. Consequently, Viktor Axelsen, Kunlavut Vitidsarn, Kodai Naraoka, and India’s HS Prannoy are among the favourites to lift the title.
On the other side, sixth seed Carolina Marín will walk in the women’s singles event of the Super 1000 tournament as the defending champion. The World No. 6 is still one of the favourites to win the crown alongside the likes of An Se-young, Akane Yamaguchi, and home hope, Chen Yufei.
In men’s doubles, a turnaround can be expected as the India pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty will be looking forward to adding another page of legacy to the history books, cruising on the unforgettable Indonesia Open triumph.
Consequently, in Women’s doubles, a battle between the Chinese pair, Chen Qingchen & Jia Yifan and South Korea’s Baek Ha-na & Lee So-hee is expected to unfold. Moreover, home hope Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong will be defending their crown as the top seeds.