Nov 25 (Emirates247): Dubai favourites Kidambi Srikanth and Saina Nehwal of India have qualified for next month’s BWF Dubai World Superseries Finals to be held at the Hamdan Sports Complex from December 9-13.

Held under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, the World Superseries Finals are to be staged in Dubai each December until 2017 as part of a four-year partnership, facilitated by Falcon and Associates, in partnership with the Dubai Sports Council with the Badminton World Federation (BWF).

Following the last of the 12 MetLife BWF World Superseries tournaments - the Yonex-Sunrise Hong Kong Open - the season-ender has begun to take shape with the likes of Men’s Singles titans Chen Long and Lin Dan of China, Denmark’s Jan Jorgensen and Viktor Axelsen, and India’s Kidambi Srikanth, as well as Women’s Singles world No.1 Carolina Marin of Spain, India’s golden girl Saina Nehwal and China’s dynamic duo of Wang Shixian and Wang Yihan, all securing their berths in the showdown.

The blockbuster event will showcase the top-eight finishers on the BWF Destination Dubai Rankings in men’s and women’s singles and doubles and mixed doubles.

Apart from the world class action in the singles competitions, it is also set to feature a brilliant line-up of top pairs across all three doubles disciplines.

On the Men’s Singles landscape, Chen Long looms large as the one to beat after a year which has seen him defend his World championships crown and take five Superseries titles.

But with badminton legend, two time Olympic champion and five time world champion Lin Dan back on form Chen will have to produce his best to retain his title.

Jorgensen and Axelsen are also in the hunt, having both claimed a Lin Dan scalp this year.

Dubai favourite Srikanth managed to hang on to take the final qualifying place, but will have to turn around his recent slump to make an impression this year.

Women’s Singles world champion Carolina Marin is on a roll, taking five titles in 2015, and finishing top of the qualifying table.

Wang Shixian and Wang Yihan took the next two spots, despite neither taking a title this year.

Their countrywoman Li Xuerui finished fourth but missed the cut as no country can field more than two singles players or pairs per category.

Dubai crowd favourite Saina Nehwal also earned a berth, along with last year’s winner, Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu Ying

Marin will be making her first appearance in Dubai after missing qualification last year.

She said: “Dubai will be a tough tournament, but of course I’m happy I could qualify, so looking forward to playing there. Every opponent is tough, but the toughest opponent is going to be myself. So if I control myself, I know I can win all the games. Last year I didn’t qualify, so it was good motivation for me to qualify this year.”

The doubles events are also poised to be intriguing battles, with Men’s Doubles offering the mouth-watering prospect of clashes between the top-ranked, red-hot pair of Lee Yong Dae/Yoo Yeon Seong of Korea; who claimed six titles this year, and the current World Champions Mohammed Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia.

Lee Yong Dae said: “We have had a great year; we’ve won six Superseries. So obviously we are in a good frame of mind now and we expect to do well in Dubai. It would be great if we could defend the title. Last year we were able to finish on top. The entire experience was very positive and I believe it will be the same this year.”

The women’s doubles competition is wide open with 11 different teams winning the 12 titles on offer this year.

China’s twins Luo Ying and Luo Yu qualified first, and thanks to a BWF regulation which allows a wildcard to be offered to the current World Champions regardless of their Destination Dubai Superseries ranking, the Luo twins will be joined by compatriots Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei.

Denmark’s Christinna Pedersen will partner with Kamilla Rytter Juhl to contest this category as well as mixed doubles, and last year’s Superseries winners Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi will look to replicate their winning form.

In Mixed Doubles, China’s World Champions and World Superseries Finals defending champions Zhang Nan/Zhao Yunlei again head the list of contenders.

Zhang and Zhao have dominated the competition this year, contesting nine events, winning six Metlife supersereis titles and finishing runners-up in two.

The only European pair to upset Zhao and Zhang when they won the Japan Open, Denmark’s Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna Pedersen will pose the greatest threat, along with Korea’s Ko Sung Hyun and Kim Ha Na who won the Denmark and French Opens.

England’s Commonwealth Games gold medallists, Chris and Gabrielle Adcock also made the cut.

Tickets for the BWF Dubai World Superseries Finals are on sale at www.ticketmaster.ae.

Prices start from Dh25, with those under 18 years entering for free when accompanied by a ticketed adult.