Dubai: Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu Ying, runner-up in the Superseries Finals to Li Xuerui in 2013, is looking to end the Chinese stranglehold on the BWF Destination Dubai World Superseries Finals trophy. The high profile event is scheduled at the Hamdan Sports Complex from December 17-21.

The women’s singles draw at this year’s Superseries Finals will feature, along with Tai, title-favourites Wang Shixian and Wang Yihan of China, Saina Nehwal of India, Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand, Sung Ji Hyun of Korea, Bae Yeon Ju of Korea and Akane Yamaguchi of Japan.

Only the top eight eligible players in the world have qualified through 12 MetLife BWF Superseries events for this season-ending extravaganza, which will be staged in Dubai each December until at least 2017, as part of a four-year partnership between the Badminton World Federation and the Dubai Sports Council.

Chinese players, including defending champion Li Xuerui (who will be absent this time due to an injury), have won the last four editions of the Superseries Finals. Apart from Tai and India’s Saina Nehwal, no non-Chinese player has managed to win any of the 12 Superseries events this year. Tai, however, is not daunted by the prospect of facing the Chinese in Dubai.

Speaking about their dominance and ways to break it, Tai said: “Mainland China not only has high quality players, but they also receive a lot of support and training from government programmes. These, among other factors, have made it possible for them to have such consistent success. However, Taiwan has also been very supportive of us, and allowed us to focus on our training without many distractions. The key to breaking the Chinese stranglehold on this trophy will be for me to focus on my strengths, play aggressively and take my chances when they come.”

Even in the absence of 2012 and 2013 champion Li Xuerui, the presence of 2010 winner Wang Shixian and 2011 winner Wang Yihan has put the odds firmly in favour of the trophy heading back to China.

Tai, however, has other ideas, and making history is not something new to her after she became her country’s first badminton singles medalist, taking the bronze at the Incheon Asian Games in September. She built on that by winning the last Superseries event of the year in Hong Kong, and comes into the Superseries Finals high on form and confidence.

“Having a good start is important for building confidence throughout the whole tournament. The competition will be fierce, but I know that my training and ability can carry me far in the tournament. I will aim to have the strongest possible start, and bring that momentum through to the finals.”

Tickets for the BWF Destination Dubai World Superseries Finals are on sale at www.ticketmaster.ae, Prices start from AED 20, with those under 18 years entering for free when accompanied by a ticketed adult. For more information about the event go to http://www.destinationdubai.ae/