Team VICTOR players, Korean
Ko Sung Hyun and
Kim Ha Na won their first and only Superseries mixed doubles title together last year right here in Sydney. (
Wish Ko S.H. a Happy Birthday!) On Wednesday, the Asian Champs will come back down under for their title defense.
As the seventh seeds, however, Ko/Kim lands in a packed section of the draw where they will potentially have compatriots
Yoo Yeon Seong and
Chang Ye Na in the R16, and then it could be top seed Xu/Ma the following round.
Looming in the qualifying draw is Sudirman Cup heroes Malaysian
Chan Peng Soon and
Goh Liu Ying. The former world no.3 duo has been building up their ranking efficiently, making the semifinals in three smaller tier events this year already and climbing up more than 200 spots to find themselves back into the top 70, after Goh’s knee surgery in 2014 that had halted the Malaysia hopes. They also just got a win last week against Ko/Kim in Dongguan.
Kim Gi Jung and Kim Sa Rang made the SF here last year.