The Chinese badminton team swiftly moves on to the Thailand Masters tournament.

At the start of the new year, the BWF World Tour kicked off with back-to-back tournaments, and the Chinese badminton team showed no signs of slowing down. The 2023 Indonesia Masters concluded on January 29, and just two days later, on January 31, the next stop arrived: the 2023 Thailand Masters, a BWF World Tour Super 300 event. For this tournament, the Chinese team largely maintained the same lineup that competed in Indonesia, while also introducing four young players to the doubles events as part of their ongoing tour this year.

In the men's singles event at this tournament, China's national badminton team has entered Shi Yuqi, Weng Hongyang, and Li Shifeng. Shi Yuqi and Weng Hongyang are placed in the upper half of the draw, while No. 6 seed Li Shifeng is in the lower half. Shi Yuqi unfortunately fell short in the semifinals of the Indonesia Masters last time, but this time he’s aiming to go one step further.

In the women's singles, China's national team has entered fourth-seeded Han Yue and seventh-seeded Zhang Yiman, both of whom will team up to challenge for the championship.

At the previous Indonesia Masters, China's national badminton team debuted new pairs in both women's doubles and mixed doubles. This time at the Thailand Masters, the men's doubles lineup also features the young "post-2000s" duo Chen Baiyang and Liu Yi. They previously made headlines by winning titles in lower-tier events in Vietnam and Malaysia late last year, and now, competing in their first-ever Super 300-level tour event, their performance is definitely one to watch.

Additionally, the pairs He Jiting/Zhou Haodong and Tan Qiang/Ren Xiangyu will also continue competing. However, Tan Qiang/Ren Xiangyu had a disappointing first-round performance, losing 1-2 to the Chinese Taipei duo Zhang Keqi/Bo Liwei and thus being eliminated in the opening round. At this tournament, China's men's doubles main rivals are two Indonesian pairs: the No. 3 seeds Fikri/Mulanara, who won the 2022 All England Championships, and the No. 4 seeds Karnando/Martin, who recently defeated He Jiting/Zhou Haodong to claim the Indonesia Masters title.

In the women's doubles event, China's national badminton team has entered four young pairs at the Thailand Masters. Among them, Zhang Shuxian/Liu Shengshu, Tan Ning/Xia Yuting, and Li Wenmei/Liu Xuanxuan all competed in the Indonesia Masters. Meanwhile, another promising "post-2000s" duo—Li Yijing/Luo Xumin—will make their debut this new season, making them one to watch. On the first day of competition, January 31, all three pairs took to the court. Li Yijing/Luo Xumin dominated their Thai opponents, Leesuan/Sanidhi, with straight-game victories of 21-9 and 21-5, advancing directly into the main draw. Meanwhile, the No. 5 seeds Li Wenmei/Liu Xuanxuan cruised past India's Frost/Ryan, winning 21-7 and 21-12 to secure a spot in the next round. Meanwhile, Tan Ning/Xia Yuting edged out another Indian pair, Krashto/Ponnappa, 21-15 and 21-18, earning a place in the last 16.

The top-seeded women's doubles pair at this tournament is the No. 8-ranked Thai duo Kittitharakul/Bajrang, who were defeated 0-2 by Zhang Shuxian/Liu Shengshu in the semifinals of the Indonesia Masters. This time, seeded sixth, Zhang Shuxian/Liu Shengshu are placed in the bottom half of the draw—will they manage to build on their impressive performance from the Indonesia Masters? It’s certainly something to look forward to.

In the mixed doubles event, China's national team has also retained the same lineup as at the Indonesia Masters. The tournament champions, Feng Yanzhe/Huang Dongping, along with the runners-up—a "post-00s" pair, Jiang Zhenbang/Wei Yaxin—and Cheng Xing/Chen Fanghui will all continue competing together.

Cheng Xing and Chen Fanghui, who were originally required to start from the qualifying rounds, directly earned their spots in the main tournament. Following the withdrawal of top-seeded Malaysian pair Chan Peng Soon/Lai Pei Jing, China's badminton team now faces strong competition from another Malaysian duo—the No. 2 seeds—and from South Korea's No. 5 seeds, Seo Seung Jae/Chae Yujung, among others.