More players to attempt OSIM BWF World Superseries hattricks

A month after Chen Long became the 11^th player to win three consecutive OSIM BWF World Superseries tournaments, four players have the opportunity to achieve a hattrick of their own, two more will attempt to achieve a ‘three-peat’ for the third time, but for the first time in a season, while another hopes to make it a double treble.

South Korea’s Jung Jae Sung-Lee Yong Dae (left), already had the distinction of winning three consecutive Superseries titles on two occasions, but not in the same season – they won the 2008 China and Hong Opens and followed that up by taking the first Superseries tournament of 2009 in Malaysia.
They then successfully defended their China and Hong Kong Opens in 2009 and won the season-opening South Korea Open in 2010
As such, this month’s US$250,000 Yonex Sunrise Hong Kong Open will give them the opportunity to make it a hattrick within the same year after winning the Denmark and French Open this past fortnight.
If they do so, they will follow in the footsteps of China’s Zheng Bo, who is the only player to win three consecutive Superseries tournaments on three separate occasions.
The other players who have won three back-to-back Superseries tournaments are China’s Gao Ling (two occasions), Cai Yun, Fu Haifeng, Ma Jin and Yu Yang, Indonesia’s Sony Dwi Kuncoro, Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei.
Last year, Yu Yang won three consecutive Superseries titles albeit two different partners, winning the Malaysia and All England crowns with Du Jing, before partnering Tian Qing to top spot at the Swiss Open.
She has now finally settled on Wang Xiaoli (right), as her regular partner, and what an awesome pairing they have become, winning eighth titles in their first full season together, including the World Championship gold medal in August.
They are also the only players to have won all the OSIM BWF World Superseries Premier tournaments this year – the South Korea Open, All England, Indonesia Open and Denmark Open.
The other players chasing a hattrick in Hong Kong are Denmark’s Joachim Fischer Nielsen-Christinna Pedersen (left), who are the defending champions and China’s Wang Xin, who achieved a breakthrough by winning her first ever European Superseries title in Denmark and then repeating that feat in France.
Wang Xin (below), is the only one of the seven players who are chasing immortality, who has yet to taste victory in Hong Kong and she will surely want to put that statistic  right.
In the men’s singles event, world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei, who holds the record for the most Superseries wins with 20, is feeling confident after ending a four-month title drought by winning in Paris.
He will have an early test in Hong Kong as his great rival Lin Dan, who has since dropped from No. 2 to No. 3 in the world rankings, is slated to meet him in the semi-finals.
Chen Long, who is new No. 2, is in the bottom half of the draw and has 2010 world champion Chen Jin and former world No. 1 Peter Gade in his half of the draw.