Badminton Life

Tine Leads Danish Women

The Denmark – Germany was a rematch of the 2008 semi final, with the 3-1 scoreline being repeated in the 2010 event. Tine Rasmussen started the match with a win over Juliane Schenk in the opening singles, 21-16, 21-13. The first doubles was expected to be another Danish win, but the pairing of Overzier and Marinello pulled out a 21-17, 24-22. Camila Sorensen put the Danish back in front with a win over Karin Schnaase in two games, meaning a win for the Neilsen and Ropke would win the match for Denmark.

Goleszewki and Schenk took a opening game lead, taking the first 21-18. The Danish responded by winning the second game 21-15 to take it into a final game. The Danes finished the job with a 21-13 final game victory to send them through to tomorrow’s final.

In the final also, are the Russians after a 3-0 win over the Netherlands. The Diehl/Bibik/Vislova/Sorokina coming good for the second day running with three wins in quick succession to clinch their place in the final. Diehl’s impressive 21-17, 21-7 victory started the rout, followed by Bibik’s 21-13, 21-6 win putting them on the brink of the final and then the Sorokina/Vislova partnership ending the match with a 21-12, 21-18 win to book Russia’s place in tomorrow’s final

Men’s Event

As if Denmark couldn’t get any better, they unleashed Peter Gade for the first time in the semi final. His 21-6, 21-13 win over Marc Zweibler was a frightening warning that Denmark weren’t at full strength until now. Mogensen and Boe’s 21-17, 21-18 win had Denmark of the brink of the final having played just over an hour in the last 2 days. Jan O Jorgensen completed their stunning victory gainst Marcel Reuter 24-22, 21-17 to clinch a place in the final.

What the second semi final had was everything the first didn’t, four matches split in a 3 and a half hour clash that came down to a final rubber. Wacha gave Poland an early lead with a 3 game victory, only for the Ukrainians to take the next two singles matches and one step away from the final. Mateusiak and Wacha fought back from a game down in the first doubles to secure Poland’s second win and a final rubber, winner take all match to face Denmark in the final.

Adam Cwalina and Michal Logosz’s 19-minute demolition clinched Poland’s spot in tomorrow’s final, winning 21-6, 21-12.

Semi Final complete results

Zwiebler Leads Germany to Semi-Finals

Men’s Event

With Denmark and Poland enjoying byes to the semi-finals, Germany, Russia, Ukraine and the Netherlands fought to become their opponents.

In the team tie between Germany and Russia the Germans drew first blood, and appeared to be positioned to run away with the tie, but things would not be that easy.  Denmark Super Series finalist Marc Zwiebler quickly disposed of his opponent Vladimir Malkov 21-9, 21-9, which was then followed by Marcel Reuter winning a squeaker over Vladimir Ivanov 22-20, 25-23.  Fabian Hammes was however unable to close out the tie losing badly to Stanislav Pukhov 21-14, 21-7.  The Russian’s first men’s doubles Durkin and Nikolaenko also did their jobs defeating Fuchs and Kindervarter 21-17, 21-15 to set up a fifth and final match.  Unfortunately for the Russians their comeback was for nothing as the German pair of Hopp and Schoettler pulled off the win over Dremin and Pukhov in three close games 16-21, 21-19, 21-15.  Germany will now face Denmark in the semi-finals.

The other quarter-final tie was not nearly as close however, with Ukraine defeating their Dutch opponents with relative comfort.  Dmytro Zavadsky defeated Rune Massing 21-12, 21-13, Valeriy Atrashchenkov defeated Lester Oey 21-12, 21-12, and the only close match was between Vladislav Druzchenko and Saber Afif with Druzchenko winning in three games 21-13, 19-21, 21-13 to seal the win 3-0.  Ukraine will now face Poland in their semi-finals.

Women’s Events

Once again the Danish team had an opportunity for rest as the were through with a bye to the semis alongside the Netherlands.  The Danes would face the winners of Germany and Bulgaria.  The Germans proved too strong for the Bulgarians winning in three straight matches.  Juliane Schenk led the way with her win over Petya Nedelcheva, followed by Karin Schnasse beating Linda Zetchiri, and finally Fabienne Deprez defeating Dimitria Popstoykova. The Germans will now face Denmark.

The next tie was between Russia and Scotland. The first women’s singles was between Ella Diehl and Susan Egelstaff who faced off against each other in the Scottish International in late 2009. In that meeting Egelstaff was the victor, but Diehl had her revenge winning easily 21-12, 21-12. Tatjana Bibik took the next point for Russia beating Linda Sloan 21-14, 21-9. Finally it was the Russian pairing of Vislova and Sorokina who would seal their team’s place in the semi-finals with a win over Bankier and Mason 21-11, 21-15. The Russians will now play the Netherlands.

Click here for full results from the European Team Championships 2010

Cann Falls To Kaori

It seemed almost destined that the young up and comer Viktor Axelsen would storm his way to the title in Sweden, but another relatively unknown player from Indonesia named Indra Bagus Ade Chandra was too much for the young Dane. Similar to Axelsen, Chandra fought his way through the qualifying rounds to find his place in the finals. The Indonesia defeated Axelsen with a confident 21-15, 21-12 scoreline. We can likely expect to hear much more from both of these young players.

In the women’s singles it was Kaori Imabeppu of Japan taking the title over England’s Elizabeth Cann in a relatively quick 21-15, 21-10 win. After defeating China’s Rong Bo it appeared that Cann would have more to challenge Kaori with, but it appeared that perhaps fatigue got the best of her. The only game that Kaori dropped throughout the entire tournament was to the top seed Ella Diehl.

While they may have lost the women’s singles, England rebounded with a confident looking Robin Middleton and Chris Langridge in the men’s doubles event. The two managed to take the title without dropping a game, and with few close games at that. They defeated their Danish opponents Mikkel Elbjorn and Christian John Skovgaard 21-11, 21-18.

Both the women’s doubles and mixed doubles went to Danish pairs, and both finals were intensely fought. In the women’s doubles Helle Nielsen and Marie Ropke snuck past their Dutch opponents Lotte Jonathans and Pauline Van Dooremalen in three close games 17-21, 21-15, 21-18. Then in the mixed doubles Mads Pieler Kolding and Britta Andersen narrowly defeated their Ukrainian opponents Valery Atrashchenkov and Elena Prus 18-21, 21-18, 21-17.

The EBU tour goes on a bit of a break again now with Thomas and Uber Cup preliminaries happening around the world. Stay tuned for more BWF tour results from those events soon.

Swedish International 2010 Draws

Viktor Axelsen Bursts Onto Scene

After surprising Swedish number one Henri Hurskainen on day one, along with fellow Danes Sune Gavnholt and Kasper Ipsen, the badminton world has taken notice of a new potential star in Viktor Axelsen. As his matches progress his performance seems to be improving as each consecutive opponent appears to be getting fewer points than the last. In the semi-finals he played France’s Mathieu Lo Ying Ping and while the first game seemed like they may have been evenly matched, the Dane turned it up in the second game leaving the Frenchman with few answers to the young Danes excellent shots. After an easy 21-15, 21-9 win Axelsen will be in his first EBU circuit final, while also playing his first EBU circuit tournament. All eyes will be watching the final tomorrow against another relatively unknown player Indra Bagus Ade Chandra from Indonesia.

In the women’s singles Rong Bo’s excellent ascent from qualifications was brought to an end by England’s Elizabeth Cann in two straight games 22-20, 21-12. In the final Cann will have to face Japan’s Kaori Imabeppu who saw off the top seeded Ella Diehl earlier in the tournament.

Here are the finals line ups for the Swedish International 2010:

Men’s Singles: Indra Bagus Ade Chandra vs Vicktor Axelsen
Women’s Singles: Kaori Imabeppu vs Elizabeth Cann
Men’s Doubles: Mikkel Elbjorn and Christian John Skovgaard vs Chris Langridge and Robin Middleton
Women’s Doubles: Helle Nielsen and Maria Ropke vs Lotte Jonathans and Paulien Van Dooremalen
Mixed Doubles: Mads Pieler Kolding and Britta Andersen vs Valerly Atrashchenkov and Elena Prus

Swedish International 2010 Draws

Marc Zwiebler

The day started with two Scottish hopefuls in the final, unseeded Emma Mason and Mariana Agathangelou took on the top seeded Russian duo of Nina Vislova and Valeria Sorokina in the first final of the day. The local support rallied behind the British couple when they took a 12-11 lead early in the first set, only for the Russian pair to storm to the opening set 21-16.

The second set went much the same way as the first, with the Russian top seeds leading and refusing to let go of their lead, taking the second game 21-16 to claim the title. Marc Zweibler played Peter Mikkelsen in the Men’s Singles final, with both looking impressive on their way to the final.

Zweibler took a closely fought out first game 21-15, only for Mikkelsen to respond to take the second game by the same score but Zweibler dominated the final game and took it 21-16 to claim the Men’s Singles title.

The Men’s Doubles match turned into a fabulous encounter between the 3rd and 4th seeds, with the English 4th seeds of Middleton and Langridge taking a tight first game 21-19 and then saved 5 game points in the second but couldn’t get their own chance and lost the second game 26-24. The Danish 3rd seeds of Conrad-Petersen and Pieler Kolding dominated the third game and at 8-8 won 13 of the next 16 points to win the third game 21-11.

The mixed doubles was the most one-sided of the finals, with Valeria Sorokina and Alexander Nikolaenko defeating Raj and Renuga Veeran 21-11, 21-16 in just 23 minutes.  The last match of the day pitted the top two seeds in the women’s singles against each other, with Susan Egelstaff in her first Scottish International final.

Ella Diehl dominated the opening part of the first game, only for Egelstaff to respond and from 18-17 down took the next four points to take the first game 21-18. If the first game was a nervy encounter, the second game was a precession from the 2nd seed Scot. Ella Diehl’s level dropped dramatically and Egelstaff was in commanding form as she took the second game 21-10 to win her first Scottish International title.

Sunday’s Results

Marc Zwiebler

Susan Egelstaff and Emma Mason have kept local interests alive into Sunday’s finals day with two wins on Saturday, Susan Egelstaff defeated 8th seed Tatiana Bibik in 3 games in the quarter final then booked her place in the final with a two game victory over Switzerland’s Jeanine Cicognini.

Egelstaff will play top seed Ella Diehl in the final, after the Russian beat unseeded Turk Li Shuang in two close games in the quarters before beating 3rd seeded Linda Zechiri in three games to set up a first versus second seed final.

Przemyslaw Wacha’s quarter final matchup with Jan Vondra never took place, with the 8th seeded Czech pulling out the night before, 4th seeded Peter Mikkelsen continued his excellent run and took out the second seed at the semi final stage in two close games, winning 21-19, 21-18.

Mikkelsen will play top seeded Marc Zweibler in the final, after the German defeated 6th seeded Vladimir Malkov in two games 21-14, 21-14 followed by 7th seeded Scott Evans in three games to book his place in the final.

Emma Mason and partner Mariana Agathangelou also reached tomorrow’s Women’s Doubles final after two superb wins. The first against the 2nd seeded Danish pair of Neilsen and Ropke and then a comfortable two set win over Cooper and Ward in an all-British semi final. This will be Agathangelou’s third consecutive final in the Women’s doubles at the Scottish International.

They will play the Russian top seeds Nina Vislova and Valeria Sorokina, who had to come through 2 three game encounters to reach the final. The first against unseeded Dutch duo of Jonathans and Van Dooremalen, winning 21-12 in the third and against 3rd seeded Indian pair Balan and Kurian, defeating them 21-14 in the third.

Play begins at 1pm on Sunday.

Scottish International Championships 2009 Draws

Przemyslaw Wacha

The top 2 seeds in both singles events are through to the last 8 of the Scottish International, Marc Zwiebler has been impressive in his progression to the last eight as has second seeded Przemyslaw Wacha, neither player has dropped a game to date.

Marc Zwiebler plays Vladimir Malkov in the last 8, with Wacha playing Jan Vondra of the Czech Republic in the quarter finals. Unseeded Sourabh Verma plays Peter Scott Evans while Irwansyah plays Peter Mikkelsen in the other quarter finals.

Both Diehl and Egelstaff survived a first game scare in their last 16 to come through to make the last 8. Ella Diehl beat Carola Bott in the 3rd Round while Susan Egelstaff defeated Michelle Chan Ky. Diehl plays unseeded Turk Li Shuang whilst Susan Egelstaff plays Tatiana Bibik in the quarter finals.

Linda Zechiri plays Any Nieminen and Sayali Gokhale will play Jeanine Cicognini, who put out last years winner Elizabeth Cann in Round 2.

Nina Vislova and Vitalij Durkin will start off play again tomorrow, this time they play 5th seed Tony Ng and Grace Gao in the Mixed Doubles quarter finals. With all 5 top seeds still in the competition, it could be another year for Russian domination in the Scottish International.

UPDATE: Przemyslaw Wacha is through to the semi-finals as Jan Vondra has withdrawn.

Play begins tomorrow at 10am local time
Scottish International Championships 2009 Draws

Marc Zwiebler

Play started at 10am with top seed Marc Zweibler in action against qualifier Joshua Green, the German being in fantastic form in his 21-17, 21-13 win and will play against Scotland’s Craig Goddard. 6th seed Vladimir Malkov was also impressive in his win over Tomas Kopriva.

Local interest will continue into the second round, with Kieran Merrilees, Martin Campbell, Calum Menzies, Stephen McPhail and Gordon Thomson all winning their opening round games. Second seed Przemyslaw Wacha was last on court but was perhaps the most impressive in the opening round, winning 21-6, 21-14 against Rohan Midha.

The top seeds in the Women’s Singles will be in action tomorrow, with top seed Ella Diehl playing Perrine Lebuhanic and second seed Susan Egelstaff playing Belgian Stefanie Bertels. With local interest also coming in the way of Kirsty Gilmour, after a first round walkover.

Play begins tomorrow with top seeds Durkin and Vislova playing Scottish pair Keith Turnbull and Kirsten Geals, second seed Claes and Descamps have pulled out, leaving the bottom half of the draw wide open.

Day 1 seen only two seeds lost; will the dominance end on Friday? Play begins at 10am.
Scottish International Championships Draws

Susan Egelstaff begins the quest for her first Scottish Open this week with arguably her easiest draw to the later years in all the years she has been playing the event. The second seed will play the winner of Stefanie Bertels and Lubomira Stoymora in the second round after receiving a first round bye.

Top seed Ella Diehl plays the winner of Huwaina Razi and Perrine Lebuhanic, the news of Olga Konon withdrawing from the event is another boost to Egelstaff’s hopes, with the Pole recently reaching the French Super Series quarter final.

Marc Zweibler comes into the Men’s Singles as the top seed; his opening round match is against qualifier Joshua Green. Local interest will be with 9th seeded Kieran Merrilees for a chance of a Scottish victory, he plays Sam Phiillips in Round 1.

The Mixed Doubles draw has been opened up in the lower half of the draw with the withdrawal of 2nd seeds Claes and Descamps, allowing Scottish pair Paul Van Rietvelde and Emma Mason to progress into Round 1.

Play begins at 10am local time with Marc Zweibler starting play, with the first round of the Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles being completed on Day 1.

Thursday’s Order Of Play
Scottish International Championships 2009 Draws

To nobody’s surprise tomorrow Eric Pang will be playing Jan O Jorgensen in the finals of the Bitburger Open. Pang defeated Hans-Kristian Vittinghus 21-15, 21-10 to book his spot quite easily, however Jorgensen had a little bit more difficulty with his opponent Carl Baxter. Baxter pushed Jorgensen in both games of their match, losing 22-20, 21-18. This is actually a very interesting match up, as years past Pang was viewed as Europe’s next possible challenger to the Asian domination in the sport, and now Jorgensen is being viewed in a somewhat similar way. Unfortunately Pang has yet to fit this billing, but as a typical European perhaps the best is to come later in his career. Jorgensen needs to beat players like Pang if he is going to live up to the hype, so tomorrow should be a telling match.

Ella Diehl will be kicking herself tomorrow after she let her semi-final match against Japan’s Yu Hirayama slip through her fingers. After winning the first game, and leading with match point in the second, she was unable to close the door on her opponent and eventually lost badly in the third game. The Japanese shuttler will face the hometown favourite Juliane Schenk in the final after she disposed of Yao Jie in two games 21-18, 21-12.

For full results from the Bitburger Open check the draws below:
Bitburger Open 2009 Draws