WHO CAN STOP ZHENG AND HUANG? – MIXED DOUBLES PREVIEW
誰能阻止雅思？混雙前瞻
MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2018
TEXT BY GAYLE ALLEYNE
When it comes to Mixed Doubles, the names Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong (featu
red image; left) have been on the lips of badminton pundits all season – and
may be again come Sunday 16 December.
每當談到混雙項目時，整個賽季的羽毛球專家嘴邊都掛著鄭思維、黃雅瓊的名字，而且可
能又會在本週日再提一次。
Having settled comfortably into their partnership – formed in November 2017
– the world No.1 duo have entrenched themselves in the penthouse position and
are, without a doubt, the favourites to prevail on home turf in the season-en
ding HSBC BWF World Tour Finals.
這對在2017年11月成軍的世界第一組合，已經良好地融入他們的合作關係，而且牢固確立
他們的頂尖地位。毫無疑問，在主場的廣州年終賽中，他們普遍被認為是奪冠熱門。
As if boasting eight titles out of 13 tournaments this year was not enough of
a confidence booster, the Chinese stars will have the full weight of home fans
cheering for them at Tianhe Gymnasium in Guangzhou. The runaway top qualifier
s for the signature event, who did not need to rely on their automatic berth a
s World champions, have another title looming large on their horizon.
如果說今年在十三場比賽裡奪得八冠還不足以激勵他們，這對中國明星也會從廣州天河體
育館家鄉的觀眾獲得滿場歡呼聲。這對不需要依靠世錦賽名額的頂尖入圍者，視線裡出現
了另一個重要的冠軍頭銜。
“Only the consistent performers can qualify for Guangzhou. We are happy we wi
ll be able to compete. Our final goal is to play well in this World Tour Final
s,” said Zheng who is aiming for a hat-trick of victories in the December sho
wpiece.
「只有持續的好表現才有資格參加廣州賽。我們很高興能夠參賽。我們最終的目標是打好
年終賽。」鄭思維說。在這十二月的盛會裡，他瞄準三連勝。
Having won in 2016 and 2017 with Chen Qingchen, the 21-year-old has become com
fortable atop the mountain and is keen to keep his perch; this time accompanie
d by 24-year-old Huang. The latter is equally fixed on the mission at hand.
他在2016和2017年跟陳清晨搭檔奪得年終冠軍。這位二十一歲的球員習於站在頂峰，而且
渴望保持他的地位。這一次，他的搭檔是黃雅瓊，後者也同樣緊盯這個目標。
“We have to focus on ourselves first. Every game and every point is important
. We have to play group matches before we can reach the knockout stage – so e
very point is important,” noted the gritty player.
「首先我們必須先專注在自己身上。每場球賽、每一分都是重要的。我們要先打小組賽才
能進入到淘汰賽階段，所以每一分都很重要，」這位堅毅的球員說。
Despite their incredible success this year, the Chinese aces are mindful that
they are not unbeatable and they only have to look as far as second place in t
he HSBC Race to Guangzhou rankings to be reminded of that. Yuta Watanabe/Arisa
Higashino (featured image; right) upset Zheng/Huang in the prestigious All En
gland final in March and should arrive at the Finals in a confident mood, havi
ng registered their first victory against China’s other Finals contenders, Wa
ng Yilyu/Huang Dongping, to land the Hong Kong title last month. Making their
Finals debut, the Japanese have endeared themselves to fans with a fearless pl
aying style that will be on show next week.
儘管今年他們取得令人難以置信的成就，這對中國明星也要留神。因為只要望向年終賽排
名第二位的組合，就會讓人想起他們並非是牢不可破的。在今年三月富有聲望的全英決賽
中，渡邊勇大、東野有紗擊敗了鄭黃。而且他們自信滿滿地前來廣州年終賽，因為剛在上
個月的香港公開賽裡，他們對另一組中國競爭者王黃首次取得勝利。首次登場年終賽的東
渡，他們無所畏懼的球風廣受粉絲們的愛戴，將會在年終賽展現出來。
Meanwhile, Wang and Huang – China’s world No.2 pair who have lingered in the
shadows of their more accomplished compatriots – will aim to shake off the f
rustration of being second best on a number of occasions this season. Qualifyi
ng in fifth position, they will want to leave everything on the court in Guang
zhou where, they too, can expect massive home support in their second successi
ve Finals appearance. Will they at last outshine Zheng/Huang – it is left to
be seen?
與此同時，王黃這對活在同胞雅思陰影下的組合，其目標是擺脫身為世界第二的挫敗。以
第五名資格參賽的王黃，將要在球場上一決勝負。第二度接連參加的他們，也能期待來自
滿場觀眾的支持。他們最終能夠戰勝雅思嗎？還尚待觀察。
The other five pairs in the running can all have a say in the proceedings, dep
ending on how the draw and ensuing action unfold. Malaysia’s hopes rest with
Rio 2016 silver medallists, Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying, as well as with Singa
pore Badminton Open 2018 champions, Goh Soon Huat/Shevon Jemie Lai. Chan/Goh w
ere heartened to qualify in fourth place, having missed out on all four season
-enders in Dubai. They are keen to make up for lost time but are under no illu
sions about the task.
其他五對參賽的組合也都有發言權，這就取決於籤表還有接下來的賽事如何發展。大馬希
望落在了里約奧運銀牌吳柳螢、陳炳順，還有另外一組獲得新加坡公開賽冠軍的吳順發、
賴潔敏的身上。陳吳對於自己以第四名資格參賽感到振奮，因為他們已經錯過整整四年的
杜拜年終賽。他們渴望彌補那些失落的時光，不過對於這項任務卻不抱幻想。
“It will be quite tough because there are eight top pairs, but we have prepar
ed well and we are ready,” said 29-year-old Goh Liu Ying, applauding the incr
ease in prize money.
「因為參賽者都是前八的頂尖組合，比賽會相當艱難。不過我們已經準備好了。」二十九
歲的吳柳螢說。她也對年終賽增加獎金稱讚有加。
“We don’t want to pressure ourselves by setting any expectations. We never q
ualified for any of the Dubai finals so I am very happy to be competing in Gua
ngzhou and we hope to get some good results.”
「我們不想設定任何目標給自己壓力。我們未能參加任何一次杜拜年終賽，所以很高興這
次能來廣州，希望我們能獲得一些好的結果。」
Like Goh, Sapsiree Taerattanachai has rebounded impressively from a serious in
jury and she and Dechapol Puavaranukroh have again made themselves part of the
Mixed Doubles conversation. The Thai tandem enjoyed a strong finish to the ye
ar, reaching the quarter-finals in Fuzhou, the semi-finals in Paris and Hong K
ong, and the finals in Odense, Denmark. They are dangerous customers on their
day and will be looking to conclude 2018 on the highest note of all.
如同吳柳螢一樣，沙西麗從嚴重的傷病中出人意料地從谷底反彈回來，而且跟德差鵬搭檔
再次獲得了參與混雙的對話權。這組泰國組合今年獲得很好的成績，他們進入福州賽八強
、法國與香港賽的四強，還有丹麥賽決賽。這對具有危險特質的組合想要高調結束2018年
的賽事。
While not many eyes may currently be on Hafiz Faizal/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja
or Marcus Ellis/Lauren Smith, neither pair can be underestimated. The Indonesi
ans are emerging as potential successors to the iconic Tontowi Ahmad/Liliyana
Natsir and this qualification is another stamp in their favour. England’s Ell
is and Smith, meanwhile, punched the last tickets to Guangzhou, leaping from 1
5th to eighth position in the rankings by winning the Scottish Open 2018 on 25
November.
可能沒太多人注意Hafiz Faizal/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja或Marcus Ellis/Lauren Smi
th這些組合，不過他們也不能被低估。印尼組合被視為納西爾/阿瑪德這對偶像的潛在接
班人，符合年終參賽資格對他們來說也是一種證明。同時，英格蘭的Marcus Ellis/Laure
n Smith，在贏得蘇格蘭公開賽後從十五名躍升至第八名，獲得了通往廣州的最後一張門
票。
Whichever way these eight pairs have reached the Finals, they have all earned
the right to vie for the World Tour’s biggest jackpot – with a Mixed Doubles
champions’ cheque of US$126 000 – and they are all focused on grabbing the
lucrative prize!
前往年終賽的這八個組合，不論哪一組都有能力爭奪年終賽的頭獎：混雙冠軍的12.6萬美
元支票。他們所有人都集中精神爭奪這項桂冠！
https://bwfworldtourfinals.bwfbadminton.com/news-single/2018/12/10/who-can-sto
p-zheng-and-huang/