The figures of the Madrid Spain Masters
The Madrid Spain Masters, which will take place at the CDM Gallur from March 28th to April 2nd, will bring a high level of athletes to the capital of Spain, which will also be the world capital of badminton. Obviously, the star of the event will be Spanish idol Carolina Marín, who returns to the stage where she conquered her sixth consecutive European gold, but the list of athletes on the poster includes Olympic and world medalists who will raise the temperature in each day of competition.
Regarding the favorites, Japanese player Kenta Nishimoto is the top seed in the men’s singles event, followed by another Japanese player Kanta Tsuneyama. The third seed is Indonesian player Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo, who actually won the silver medal in the last Spain Masters (Huelva 2021) tournament. We cannot forget the participation of Danish player Anders Antonsen, a double world medalist and triple European medalist who already climbed onto the podium in Gallur during the 2022 European Championships, where he won the silver medal.
In women’s singles, the predictions are in favor of Carolina Marin, the top seed and main favorite to win the gold medal. The Olympic champion and triple world champion returns to a venue with great memories, as the 2022 European Championships marked her comeback after a serious knee injury…and she returned in style, making history with her sixth consecutive European gold. But Carolina will not have an easy time: Indian player Pusarla V. Sindhu is the second seed, followed by Thai player Busanan Ongbamrungphan and Japanese player Nozomi Okuhara. We must also not forget athletes such as Michelle Li, Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, Wen Chi Hsu, and Beiwen Zhang.
The tension will also be palpable in the doubles events. The number one ranked pair in the world, Dajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto, do not want to miss out on the medals, but to achieve them, they will have to be better than the Indian duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty or the Danish pair Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen.
In the women’s doubles, the current Olympic champions, Indonesian pair Apriyani Rahayu and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti, stand out, as well as Thai players Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai, not to mention the Bulgarian sisters Gabriela and Stefani Stoeva.
In mixed doubles, the teams to beat are Thai players Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai, world champions in 2021 and bronze medalists in 2019. With the aim of dethroning them are the French pair formed by Thom Gicquel – Delphine Delrue and the Danish duo consisting of Mark Lamsfuss and Isabel Lohau, bronze medalists at the 2021 Tokyo World Championships.
