Boe & Mogensen head to Glasgow as one of four seeded Danish pairs in a draw that sees them as second favourites and one of the real European gold medal prospects. If the stars align, and from a European perspective we hope they do, the first big mental test may come in the quarter final where they may possibly play compatriots Kim Astrup & Anders Skaarup Rasmussen. Of course there is a lot of work to do in the rounds leading up to that prospective match but that is a crunch match we would all love to see. Even all four men would relish that challenge on the world stage. 

From there the route to gold becomes strewn with danger. As third seed the Indonesian pair Gideon & Sukamuljo would be the likely semi final opponents for the great Danes. The Indonesians have set the men’s doubles world alight since the Rio Olympics and quite rightly have genuine desires on their maiden world championships success. The All England champions had an amazing start to 2017 but looked vulnerable in their most recent outing in Australia where they were beaten in the opening round. 

Top seeds for the title are Chinese pair Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen and Boe and Mogensen will hope compatriots Conrad and Kolding can come through the pack and upset the seedings before a potential final match up. 

With Rio now but a distant memory English pair Langridge and Ellis (pictured above) need to reassert their credentials as one of the top pairs in the world. Seeded 14 for the championships the English will target a must win match against Goh & Tan of Malaysia as early as round 3. 

The home supporters will hope that Martin Campbell and Patrick Machugh can find some first round inspiration against Ruben Jille and Jacco Arends of the Netherlands. The Dutch will be favourites but the prize for the winners will be a shot at Russian powerhouse pair Ivanov & Sozonov. 

For the complete BWF World Championships men’s doubles draw click HERE

Juhl & Pedersen against the world

Women’s doubles major medals have been few and far between in recent times for European pairs. Christinna Pedersen and Kamilla Rytter Juhl have effectively flown solo in search of world domination and the Danish pair once again are the only real prospect of a world championship medal in Glasgow from a European perspective. 

The Olympic silver medallists have stood head and shoulders above the rest of Europe’s pairings in recent years and like Boe and Mogensen they too are in search of gold to complete the world championship set after silver and bronze in 2013 and 2015. 

The draw has also been kind to Juhl and Pedersen, if any draw is kind in a world championships that is. The Danes should be able to see daylight as far as potential semi final against China’s Huang Dongping and Li Yinhui. In their most recent encounter in Singapore in April the Danes were easy winners in two games. 

A potential final against the old enemy is what everyone wants to see. Matsutomo and Takahashi of Japan will once again stand between the Danes and their quest for a major title. The Japanese have a positive head to head against Pedersen and Juhl and who will ever forget that epic battle in Rio last year where the Japanese came out on top. 

Of the other European’s the Stoeva’s are the highest ranked and have a draw that can certainly see them progress through a few rounds. If they can gather some momentum they will face the mighty Danes in the quarter final in what would be a repeat of the European final in April. 

These worlds will see the end of the Dutch partnership of Piek and Muskens (pictured above) after the latter announced her retirement last month. Russian pair Chervyakova and Morozova are the top European pair in their quadrant of the draw and could possibly find themselves in a worlds quarter final if fourth seeded Chinese pair Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan falter after the long trip from Asia. 

For the complete BWF World Championships women’s doubles draw click HERE

Two-pronged attack in mixed draw

With 21 pairs in the draw Europe is well represented in the mixed doubles draw this coming week in the Emirates Arena. However, both history and reality state that the main European challenge will come from our two-pronged Danish and English attack. 

As always Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna Pedersen (pictured below) will lead the lines with the Adcock’s backing them up as both hunt for medals. The Adcock’s (pictured above) were in inspiring form winning the European Championships title back in April where they beat their higher ranked Danish opponents in the final. 

Ranked 5 the English European champions will have an opportunity to settle into life in the Emirates in a European dominated quadrant of the draw. It’s the quarter final where things should get serious for the English with a potential medal match against Chinese pair Zhang Nan and Li Yinhui. The Chinese beat the English in their only meeting this year in March at the German Open. 

A semi-final against top seeds Zheng Siwei and Chen Qingchen is a hurdle of monstrous proportions for the English. Five meetings and 5 defeats against the Chinese means the English will have an uphill battle to upset the odds. 

The Danes come is as sixth seeds and like the Adcock’s should find themselves with the luxury of easing towards the quarter finals. Again like the English it’s the quarter finals where things will get serious as potentially Lu Kai and Huang Yaqiong lie in wait. Two meetings and two losses this past year will mean Fischer and Pedersen will be underdogs but on the other hand should benefit from the roar of the Scottish crowd. 

Team France have qualified four pairs for the championships with European bronze pairing Labar and Fontaine leading the line. It will be a first world championships for up and coming star Thom Giquel and Delphine Delrue with the French youngsters entering the championships against experienced German pair beck and Nelte. 

For the complete BWF World Championships mixed doubles draw click HERE

For complete day 1 order of play at 2017 World Championships click HERE

For a full list of all previous World Championship winners click HERE