Badminton Life

Wang Lin Falls to Schenk

Heading into the finals tomorrow China has secured themselves finalists in all of the finals with the exception of the mixed doubles event.  Perhaps the strongest challenge to China’s dominance in the finals tomorrow is home town favourite Juliane Schenk who upset top seeded Wang Lin today in three close games 17-21, 21-15, 21-16.  The German proved that she is one of the few Europeans capable of challenging the Chinese in the women’s singles event, but she will have to do it again tomorrow against second seeded Wang Xin if she wants to take home the title.

In the mixed doubles it was England’s Robert Blair and Scotland’s Imogen Bankier that prevented China from having a pair in the finals when they defeated Tao Jiaming and Zhang Yawen in two games 21-17, 21-19.  While the British pair may not have been seeded, Blair has a history of winning some big matches, like appearance in the 2006 World Championships finals in the men’s doubles, so it’s best not to underestimate this pair tomorrow when they face Hong Kong’s Yohan Hadikusumo Wiramata and Tse Ying Suet.

As is so often the case, China has already secured themselves a top finish in both the women’s doubles and the men’s singles.  In the women’s doubles the top two seeded pairs are facing off after Cheng Shu and Zhao Yunlei sailed passed Russia’s Valeria Sorokina and Nina Vislova, and they will play Ma Jin and Wang Xiaoli in the finals.

The men’s singles featured two Chinese players facing off against two Malaysians.  First it was Chen Long up against Hafiz Hashim.  Hafiz has been trying to regain his top form, and while this tournament was an improvement for the lanky Malaysian, Chen Long was the better player winning in two straight games 21-15, 21-19.  Next up it was Bao Chunlai against Wong Choong Han.  Similar to Hashim, Wong has had a fairly good run in Germany this week, but Bao was much stronger winning 21-18, 21-13.

Finally in the mens doubles we can look forward to up and coming Chinese pair Chai Biao and Zhang Nan taking to the courts against Chinese Taipei’s Chung Hun Lin and Lin Yu Lang.

German Open 2010 Semi-Final Results

Top Seeds Choong and Lee Fall

The first round proper begun with the top seed men’s singles player Bao Chunlai in action, his opponent Sven-Eric Kastens posing little threat as the #1 seed progressed 21-9, 21-11 into round two.  The majority of the seeds in the men’s singles had little trouble in progressing into the second round, Dicky Palyama who is seeded 6^th was taken the full distance by Rei Sato of Japan, eventually the Dutch seed won 18-21, 21-11, 21-14. The bottom half of the men’s singles draw also had no shocks with the seeds, with Marc Zweibler progressing 22-20, 21-11 over Wei Feng Chong. Chen Long also safely marched into round 2 with his 21-7, 21-9 win over Dharma Gunawi.

The men’s doubles lost its top seed Choong and Lee of Malaysia in Round 1 at the hands of Liao and Wu of Chinese Tapiei, 21-18, 22-20. Another Malayian seed fell later in the day, with the 6^th seeded Chan and Lim losing out to Japanese duo Endo and Hirobe in three games, 13-21, 21-18, 21-15. The second seeded Lin and Chen progressed in a tight two game encouter with the Danish pair Conrad-Petersen and Kolding, 21-16, 21-17.

The women’s singles suffered the biggest fallout regarding the seeds, 8^th seeded Judith Meulendijks crashed out to Jeanine Cicognini in a three game encounter, 18-21, 21-15, 21-15 to the Swiss player. Petya Nedelcheva, the 5^th seed was the next seed to fall. Trupti Murgurdi of India beating the Bulgarian seed 12-21, 21-8, 21-14 to progress into Round 2. It was a bad day for the Dutch ladies, as 4^th seeded Yao Jie was the 3^rd seed to lose out in the opening round, Tse Ying Suet defeating the 4^th seed, 22-20, 21-13.

The women’s doubles seen the 3^rd and 4^th seeds progress into Round 2, where the top 2 Chinese seeds will play their opening match in the event. The 3^rd seeded Cheng and Chien came through a 3-game match against Russkikh and Nedelcheva to book their place in the second round. The 4^th seed Russian pair of Sorokina and Vislova had little problem in their opening match, defeating Heisbol and Skelbae of Denmarr 21-14, 21-19 to book their place in Round 2.

Round 2’s matches begin with the top seeded Bao Chunlai in action at 9am on Thursday.

Wednesday’s Complete Results

Denmark Dominates European Field

Group A – Winners: Denmark

Their record to date stands immaculate, four 5-0 victories to the loss of just one game. All without even fielding Peter Gade. They are the nation to beat in this competition without a doubt and haven’t even been tested en route to the semi final after a rest day on Thursday.

Group B – Winners: Poland

Thursday night seen the winner-take-all match between Poland and England for a place in the knockout stages, after two tight three game encounters left Poland 2-0 up, Hubert Paczek completed the job in a two game victory over Carl Baxter. Poland next two games were marred by retirements in both games, with the last rubber match with Rafal Hawel leading after winning the first game.

Group C – Winners: Netherlands

The Dutch progression to the knockout rounds never looked in jeopardy, but their only two losses have both came from their #1 singles player, Rune Massing. Who will need to improve in order to defeat the Group F winners.

Group D – Winners: Germany

Germany’s progression was sealed in impressive fashion, with three 5-0 victories to the loss of just 2 games. With the singles players in excellent form ahead of their quarterfinal clash with Russia.

Group E – Winners: Russia

The Russian doubles have been unbeatable in group stage action, and their only defeats have come in the singles, Ivan Sozonov has not returned to action since his opening day retirement against Italy.

Group F: Winners – Ukraine

The Ukraine’s closest match came on the opening day in a 3-2 win over Wales, after trailing 2-1. Two 4-1 victories secured Ukraines place in the knockout round against the Netherlands.

Women’s Event

Group A – Winners: Denmark

Played 3, Won 3. Played 15 Games, Won 15. The Danish women are putting down a real marker that they are here to retain their title from 2008. They will have a rest day tomorrow before taking on the winner of Germany and Bulgaria.

Group B – Winners: Netherlands

For 20 minutes, Belgium was level with Netherlands 1-1 in their final group match and the Dutch qualification was under threat. They rallied back to win the next three and win the match 4-1 to ensure their place in the knockout round.

Group C – Winners: Russia

A rare outing for Nina Vislova in singles ensured Russia’s 4-1 victory over England to progress into the knockout stage, with their second doubles pairing loss in the final match being their only defeat in the group stage.

Group D – Winners: Germany

Only Karin Schnasse’s loss to Carolina Marin stops Germany going into the knockout stage with a perfect record. Juliane Schenk has been in fine form in the three singles matches to date.

Group E – Winners: Scotland

Scotland are the only nation in the knockout stage to have lost a match but still progressed. Susan Egelstaff posted her first victory of the event today against Anna Narel whilst Mason and Bankier have gone unbeaten in all three matches.

Group F – Winners: Bulgaria

Three 5-0 victories will ensure that the Bulgarians are not taken lightly in the knockout stage, as Germany will find out tomorrow. Bulgaria in 30 games of action have allowed just 297 points, under 10 points a game.

Knockout Stages:

Men’s Quarter Final

Germany vs. Russia

Projected Line-Ups

Zweibler vs. Malkov

Domke vs. Ivanov

Reuter vs. Pukhov

Schoettler/Hopp vs. Durkin/Nicolaenko

Kasbauer/Hoth vs. Dremin/Pukhov

Russia’s key to success if that they have to take one of the singles and go into the doubles, Zweibler and Malkov met in the 2009 Scottish Open where Zweibler won comfortably. The longer the match goes on, the better the chances are that the Russian’s will win as Durkin/Nicolaenko are one of the top partnerships in Europe at the moment.

Netherlands vs. Ukraine

Projected Line-Ups

Massing vs. Zavadsky

Oey vs. Atrashchenkov

Afif vs. Druzchenko

Ridder/Oey vs. Konov/Zavadsky

Arands/Khodabux vs. Atrashchenkov/Druzcenko

Ukraine need to take advantage of Massing’s form in the group stages, this is a match that Ukraine need to win early as most of their players are playing two matches and fatigue could be a defining factor.

Women’s Event

Germany vs. Bulgaria

Projected Line-Ups

Schenk vs. Nedelcheva

Schnasse vs. Zechiri

Deprez vs. Popstoykova

Overzier/Marinello vs. Nedelcheva/Popstoykova

Neite/Goliszewki vs. Dimova/Zechiri

This could be the closest match tomorrow, with the potential of this going down to the final rubber as real possibility. It could come down to who wins 2 of the 3 singles matches.

Scotland vs. Russia

Projected Line-Ups

Egelstaff vs. Diehl

Sloan vs. Bibik

Gilmour vs. Prokopenko

Mason/Bankier vs. Vislova/Sorokina

Cooper/Sloan vs. Pollikarpova/Prokopenko

Scotland will need another inspired performance from Susan Egelstaff to defeat Ella Diehl like in the 2009 Scottish Open, Emma Mason lost out to Sorokina and Vislova in the women’s double final in the Scottish Open last year. The match could be in the hands of 16-year old Kirsty Gilmour as Russia haven’t settled on their #3 singles player. Scotland need at least two singles victory to stand a chance.

Thursday’s complete results

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

Three Dutch players had an opportunity to secure success on finals day; the All-Dutch Women’s singles final would guarantee at least one Dutch winner. Play started with the Women’s Doubles with top seeded Valeria Sorokina and Nina Vislova playing unseeded German pairing Sandra Marinello and Birgit Overzier.

The top seeded Russian pair dominated through out the game, taking the match in two games 21-12, 21-17. The next match was the all-Dutch encounter between Jie Yao and Judith Meulendijks in the women’s singles final. The match failed to live up to the competitive hype surrounding it, with Jie Yao winning comfortably in two games, 21-11, 21-12.

The all-German encounter between Kristoff Hopp and Johannes Schoettler against Michael Fuchs and Ingo Kindervater was third on court, with the lower seeded Hopp and Schoettler taking the opening set, 21-13. It was a tight opening start to the second set until 5-5 when Hopp and Schoettler won five points in a row to open up a lead, a lead they took full advantage off to win the second game and the match 21-13, 21-16.

Valerina Sorokina took title number two in the mixed doubles as her and partner Alexandr Nikolaenko defeated top seeded pair Durkin and Vislova in three games, taking the final game 21-12 in the longest match of the day. Eric Pang had opportunity to double the Dutch haul in the Men’s Singles final against Chetan Anand of India.

The opening game couldn’t have gone much worse for Pang, losing the game by 21 points to 12. The dream was slowly dying for Pang, and after 33 minutes, Chetan Anand completed his ambition at the start of the week by winning the final 21-12, 21-15.

Yonex Dutch Open 2009 Results

The Women’s doubles is laden with potential Asian winners, with 4 Chinese seeds and 2 Korean seeds in the top 8. 2 Danish and a Russian seeded is the only break in the Asian monopoly this year.

2007 World Championship Winners: Wei Yang and Jiewen Zhang
2008 Olympic Champions: Jing Du and Yang Yu

Top Seeds:
Chin Eei Hui and Wong Pei Tty

Nationality: Malaysian
Seeds: 1
Last Tournament: Malaysian Open (Finalists)
2nd Round Opponents: Emelie Lennartsson and Emma Wengberg (SWE)

The top seeds are coming into the Worlds in a good vein of form. Making the last two finals they have entered (Malaysia and Indonesia), their only defeat was against the now 6th seeds Ma Jin and Wang Xiaoli.

Their progression to the last 8 should be a simple one, before meeting Olympic Champions Jing Du and Yang Tu in the Quarter Finals.

Other Seeds to Watch:

Lee Kyung Won and Lee Hyo Jung

Nationality: Korean
Seeds: 3
Last Tournament: Indonesian Super Series (Quarter Finals)
2nd Round Opponents: Chong Sook Chin and Woon Khe Wei (MAL)

The Olympic silver medalists are hoping to go one step further this year, however this year leaves little to believe they are the duo to beat this time around. No titles in 2009 and losing out consistently to higher seeds as well as unseeded couples in the finals.

Their big test will be in the Quarter Finals against Ma Jin and Wang Xiaoli.

Ma Jin and Wang Xiaoli

Nationality: Chinese
Seeds: 6
Last Tournament: Malaysian Open (Won)
2nd Round Opponents: Laura Choinet and Weny Rahmawati (FRA)

Their names have been mentioned in the previous two reviews, they are the form couple coming into the event with their stunning win over the top seeded Malaysians. They have also won the Indian Open in the last few months, they are definitely a partnership to watch the year.

Nina Vislova and Valeria Sorokina

Nationality: Russian
Seeds: 14
Last Tournament: White Nights (Won)
2nd Round Opponents: Liu Fan Frances and Neo Yu Yan Vanessa (SIN)

The Russian couple comes in with almost no Super Series experience out with the European legs of the event. They are regulars on the EBU Circuit and with wins in their last three outings.

Their only real point of reference for most of the couples will be their matches in the Sudirman Cup, where they won all three of their matches. The second ranked couple on the EBU rankings will be one to watch this year

Yonex Sunrise World Championships 2009: Womens Doubles Draw