Michelle Li-led Canada are likely to run into stiff opposition from Germany for top honours in Group 2B of the TOTAL BWF Sudirman Cup 2019.

With Canada boasting strong singles players, Germany will bank on their doubles when the two teams clash in Group 2B, which includes Singapore and Israel.

Apart from women’s singles No.15 Michelle Li, Canada can call upon No.47 Rachel Honderich if needed in singles and doubles. Honderich and Kristen Tsai are on a good run, having won back to back titles at the Pan Am Individual Championships and the Brazil International Challenge in the run up to the Sudirman Cup.

Their men’s singles will be in the hands of Jason Anthony Ho-Shue (No.71), BR Sankeerth (No.131) and Brian Yang (No.137). Ho-Shue, a semifinalist at the Pan Am Championships, can also shoulder the responsibility in men’s doubles with Nyl Yakura (No.39).

In mixed doubles, Joshua Hurlburt Yu and Josephine Wu are Canada’s top-ranked pair at No.51.

While Germany do not appear to have the same strength in singles – Kai Schaffer (No.94) and Yvonne Li (No.41) are their top singles players – they have some top pairs in doubles.

Mark Lamsfuss and Marvin Emil Seidel – quarterfinalists at the All England this year – will expect to win all their matches, while in mixed doubles, Germany have the option of fielding Lamsfuss/Isabel Herttrich or Seidel/Linda Efler.

Women’s doubles responsibilities could fall to Johanna Goliszewski/Lara Kaepplein (No.38) or Linda Efler/Isabel Herttrich (No.45). All in all, Germany’s doubles looks to be in safe hands.

Singapore will pin their hopes on Loh Kean Yew (No.48) in men’s singles, Yeo Jia Min (No.32) in women’s singles, and Danny Bawa Chrisnanta/Tan Wei Han (No.53) in the mixed.

Loh became a sensation when he beat Lin Dan in the final of the Princess Sirivannavari Thailand Masters earlier this year; since then, he was runner-up at the Swedish Open and quarterfinalist at the Barcelona Spain Masters.

Chrisnanta and Tan Wei Han were in four straight finals – the Turkey International, the Estonian International, the Swedish Open and the Austrian Open – of which they won the first three.

Chrisnanta’s regular men’s doubles partners Terry Hee and Loh Kean Hean aren’t on the squad, and it will be interesting to see the team’s choices for the men’s doubles and women’s singles.

Israel’s hopes for an upset or two will entirely depend on their two singles players, who are ranked in the Top 100 – Misha Zilberman (No.44), who won the Brazil International Challenge recently, and Ksenia Polikarpova (No.56), runner-up at the Jamaica International and semifinalist in Brazil. Misha will possibly do duty in the mixed as well, with his mother Svetlana Zilberman – the pair is ranked No.74, but have yet to win a match this season in three tournaments.

Teams:

Germany

Men: Jones Ralfy Jansen, Peter Kasbauer, Mark Lamsfuss, Alexander Roovers, Kai Schaefer, Marvin Seidel, Jan Colin Volker, Max Weisskirchen

Women: Fabienne Deprez, Linda Efler, Johanna Goliszewski, Isabel Herttrich, Lara Kaepplein, Yvonne Li

Canada

Men: BR Sankeerth, Jason Anthony Ho-Shue, Joshua Hurlburt-Yu, Nyl Yakura, Brian Yang, Duncan Yao

Women: Rachel Honderich, Michelle Li, Brittney Tam, Kristen Tsai, Josephine Wu

Singapore

Men: Danny Bawa Chrisnanta, Koh Jia Wei, Loh Kean Yew, Toh Han Zhou

Women: Jaslyn Hooi, Jin Yujia, Tan Wei Han, Crystal Wong, Yeo Jia Min

Israel

Men: May Bar Netzer, Maxim Grinblat, Ariel Shainski, Misha Zilberman

Women: Margeret Lurie, Ksenia Polikarpova, Yuval Pugach, Shery Rotshtein, Svetlana Zilberman