KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese women's singles shuttler He Bingjiao will take the place of the injured Carolina Marin from Spain for the upcoming Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals.
Spain's Carolina Marin, who automatically qualified as world champion this year, withdrew due to injury, enabling He Bingjiao to make the cut.
Marin, who has never won the season-ending tournament, was seventh on the BWF's World Tour Rankings. Sayaka Takahashi of Japan, ranked ninth, was not invited as her teammates Nozomi Okuhara and Akane Yamaguchi qualified ahead of her.
Only two players or two pairs per member association can qualify in each category. So Marin's withdrawal meant the invitation was sent to the player next in line, He Bingjiao, in tenth place.
The by-invitation only BWF World Tour Finals features the top eight players and pairs on the World Tour in the calendar year, with the current world champions gaining automatic entry. This year's finals will be held in Guangzhou, China in December when players will be competing for a total prize pool of 1.5 million U.S. dollars.
