KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s mixed doubles pair and world number nine Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei have been nominated for the Most Improved Player of the Year honour in the 2023 Badminton World Federation (BWF) Player of the Year Awards.
China’s world number six mixed doubles shuttlers Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin and Denmark’s world number three men’s doubles players Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen are also in contention.
Tang Jie, 25, and Ee Wei, 23, have clinched two World Tour Super 300 titles so far this season – the Orleans Masters and Taipei Open.
The BWF, in a statement today, announced that the most outstanding players in eight categories will be honoured at the prestigious BWF Player of the Year Awards during the World Tour Finals Gala Dinner in Hangzhou, China on Dec 11. The draw for the World Tour Finals will be held on the same night.
Thailand’s first-ever men’s singles world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn will be up against world number one Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and South Korea’s Seo Seung Jae, who also plays in both men’s and mixed doubles, for the Male Player of the Year Award.
A fierce battle looms for the Female Player of the Year category, with the world’s top three women’s singles shuttlers – An Se Young (South Korea), Akane Yamaguchi (Japan) and Chen Yu Fei (China) – in the running.
Meanwhile, Malaysian men’s singles Paralympic champion Cheah Liek Hou and three others – Daiki Kajiwara (Japan), Lucas Mazur (France) and Kim Jung Jun (South Korea) – have been nominated for the Male Para Badminton Player of the Year.
Liek Hou, 35, is also in the running for the Para Badminton Pair of the Year category with Muhammad Fareez Anuar, following their multiple successes in the international scene.
The others vying for the award are Japan’s women’s doubles pair Sarina Satomi-Yuma Yamazaki and three Indonesian pairs – Hikmat Ramdan-Leani Ratri Oktila (mixed doubles), Subhan Subhan-Rina Marlina (mixed doubles) and Leani Ratri Oktila-Khalimatus Sadiyah (women’s doubles).
“The nominees were ratified by the BWF Council and selected based on performances during the 2022/2023 season from Nov 1, 2022, to Oct 31, 2023. An outright winner of the Eddy Choong Most Promising Player will be announced in the evening,” the statement read. –Bernama
