Lee Chong Wei ensured his second success on home soil in 2012 after his Super Series success in January as Malaysia claimed 4 of the 5 titles this week.
Lee Takes Title
It was a far from dominant display from the world number 1 this week but nevertheless Lee Chong Wei claimed the title in a three game final against the unseeded Sony Dwi Kuncoro. After losing the opening game 21-17, the world number 1 dropped just another 18 points on route to the title. For Kuncoro, it was a positive week that far from reflect his drop in the world rankings to 79 as he defeated three players inside the top 50 in the world.
Three More Titles For Malaysia
Koo and Tan claimed the men’s doubles title, dropping just a single game in the process as Malaysia swept the doubles events. The world number 9 pairing of Chan and Goh have had an excellent year to date and claimed the mixed doubles title without the loss of a game. Chin and Wong defeated the top seeded Sari and Yao in the women’s doubles to claim Malaysia’s fourth title of the week, with the 2nd seeds defeating the Singapore pairing in two tight games.
Busanan Ongbumrungpan claimed the women’s title, as the Thai player defeated another unseeded player in Sayaka Takahashi in the final with the world number 157 claiming the title in two games.
Malaysia have dominated play at their home GP Gold event with Lee Chong Wei as well as Koo and Tan giving plenty reasons for celebration going into the weekend’s play.
Lee Taken To Three
Chong Wei Feng gave the world number 1 a scare in his quarter final, taking Lee Chong Wei to three games before the top seed eventually advanced into the semi final. His opponent in the semi final is Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia, a player who narrowly missed out on the Olympic qualifying standard but has been in excellent form this week. The third seed defeated Sourabh Varma of India to ensure his third straight two game victory on route to the last 4.
The other semi final sees the unseeded Sony Dwi Kuncoro take on Muhammad Hafiz Hashim, with hopes of an all-Malaysia final looming large. Kuncoro needed 76 minutes to defeat the 5th seeded Ueda of Japan to ensure his place in the last 4 whilst Hashim has progressed through with four easy wins.
One Seed Left In Women’s Singles Draw
Only P.V. Sindhu remains from the four seeds that started the week, with the Indian taking on Sayaka Takahashi who is looking to reach her highest ever world ranking. Currently 100th in the world, her previous best was 98th but a good run this week would see her top that. The other semi final features Xing Aiying of Singapore and Busanan Ongbumrungpan of Thailand. The duo played just 6 weeks ago and despite being ranked 90 places lower in the rankings, it was the Thai player who won the match in Vietnam in two games.
Whilst most of the Chinese squad have begun a likely 3-month camp ahead of the Olympics, the world number 1 is on home soil this week and has progressed into the quarter finals.
Lee Starts Off Strong
42 minutes was all the world number 1 needed to reach the last 8, with a 19 minute demolition of Michael Fowke in is opening round match and later in the afternoon needed just 23 minutes to defeat his Indian opponent and set up a quarter final against Chong Wei Feng in an all-Malaysian clash. The 2nd seeded Tien Minh Nguyen crashed out in his second match of the day, losing to Sony Dwi Kuncoro in two games. Kuncoro takes on Takuma Ueda of Japan, seeded 5th this week.
Mitani Out
The 2nd seeded Minatsu Mitani crashed out of the women’s singles in her opening game to Singapore’s Xing Aiying and takes on Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in the quarter finals. Okuhara was ranked inside the top 60 just a few months previously and is looking improve on her current ranking of 104. The top seeded Sindhu of India is safely into the last 8 where she takes on her own Japanese opponent in Kana Ito who was ranked outside the top 200 last summer herself. Whilst Sindhu’s rise from outside the top 100 to 26th in the world would see her ranking improve further with a win this week.
Marc Zwiebler claimed the European title against an unlikely opponent in Henri Hurskainen whilst two other potential German titles were undone by their Danish opponents on finals day.
German Success
Marc Zwiebler needed to defeat just a single Danish player on route to his European title, with Axelsen and Gade both falling to his opponent in the final Henri Hurskainen. His victory over Jan O Jorgensen was the catalyst for his success this week and had little trouble in defeating his Swedish opponent in his most one-sided victory over the week, winning 21-15, 21-13.
Danish Success
Tine Baun repeated her success over Juliane Schenk from two years in the longest match of the day, with the top seeded Dane taking the title in 68 minutes winning 21-19, 16-21, 21-19. There was another Danish success over Germany in the men’s doubles final, with Boe and Mogensen defeating Fuchs and Roth in a very one-sided final with the Danes winning 21-11, 21-11 in just 34 minutes. The all-Danish final in the women’s doubles was won by the top seeded Pedersen and Rytter Juhl defeating the 3rd seeded Damkjaer Cruse and Roepke in two games, but needing 5 chances to claim the second game.
Mateusiak and Zieba Take Mixed Title
The Polish pair came into this week on top form after taking the Dutch title, but few people expected them to repeat their success in Karlskrona. After defeating the top seeded Fischer Neilsen and Pedersen in the quarter finals and a victory over Adcock and Bankier at the semi final stage they had little trouble in defeating Pieler Colding and Houmann to claim the European title in to games, winning 21-11, 24-22.
Henri Hurskainen’s victory over Peter Gade could have been deemed a fluke result over an legend in his final year of competition, but in his last two matches he has defeated Peter Gade and the future of Danish badminton, Viktor Axelsen.
Hurskainen Takes On Zwiebler
There is always usually a standout performance from a pair or person playing in from of his home crowd. Adcock and Bankier’s performance at the 2011 Worlds was made possible in front of a partizan London auidence. Hurskainen’s last two performances have seen him play above and beyond his world ranking of 57 to claim two incredible victories just 3 months ahead of the Olympics. His three-game victory over Axelsen has seen him progress to his first European final, where he takes on Germany’s Marc Zwiebler.
Zwiebler fell at the semi final stage in 2010, losing in three games to Peter Gade but his impressive two game victory over Jan O Jorgensen ensures that he reached the final without the loss of a game and that the European title wouldn’t be returning to Denmark for the first time since 1990.
Danish Presence In Four Finals
Whilst the clean sweep of golds is no longer an option, Denmark have secured at least one gold in the women’s doubles final. Tine Baun takes on Juliane Schenk in a rematch of their 2010 final in Manchester, with the top seeded Baun defeating Linda Zechiri to reach the final whilst the second seeded Schenk was impressive in her 21-13, 21-10 victory over Jie Yao to ensure the German like Zwiebler, reached the final without the loss of a game.
Boe and Mogensen will hope to go one better than 2010 as they take on Fuchs and Roth in the men’s doubles final. The top seeded defeated Adcock and Ellis to reach the final whilst their German opponents ended any chance of an all-Danish final with their victory over Bonde and Kristiansen in a three game, 62-minute semi final. Their previous and only meeting was over two years ago, with the Danes taking the match in three games.
Pedersen and Rytter Juhl take on their team mates Damkjaer Kruse and Roepke in the women’s doubles final, with the 3rd seeds ending the run of the 2010 winners Vislova and Sorokina in three games. The top seeds needed just two games and half the time to defeat Michels and Marinello of Germany to ensure their place in the final with the loss of just 96 points to date this week.
The mixed doubles final features the 2010 runners-up Mateusiak and Zieba taking on the Danish pair of Pielder Colding and Houmann. Both pairs needed three games to defeat their higher seeded opponents, with the 7th seeded Poles defeating the 4th seeded Adcock and Bankier whilst the 8th seeds defeated their team mates and 2010 winners Laybourn and Rytter Juhl who were seeded 2nd this week. Their only meeting came at the 2011 World Championships, which the Polish pair won in three games.
Peter Gade’s last run at the European Championships ends with a quarter final defeat to Sweden’s Henri Hurskainen as several Danish seeds crash out at the last 8.
Axelsen and Jorgensen Keep Danish Dream Alive
With Henri Hurskainen’s shock victory over Peter Gade, the hopes of a nation rested on Jan O Jorgensen and Viktor Axelsen. The 7th seeded Axelsen set up his semi final against Hurskainen with a two game victory over Dieter Domke whilst Jan O Jorgensen ensure there wouldn’t be another upset with his own two game victory over Mattias Wigardt. Jorgensen takes on the 4th seeded Marc Zwiebler after the German defeated Rajiv Ouseph in the only quarter final to have a pair of seeds play one another.
Tine Baun is also into the semi finals to keep the hope of five Danish titles alive. The top seed defeated Carolina Marin in three games to set up her semi final with the 7th seeded Linda Zechiri, who defeated Kristina Gavnholt to end the unseeded players run in the event. Jie Yao ensured there wouldn’t be two Bulgarians in the last 4 with a three game victory over Petya Nedelcheva to set up a semi final against Germany’s Juliane Schenk. The second seed defeated Sabrina Jaquet in her quarter final to set up her semi final with the 5th seeded Jie Yao.
Danish Dominance In Doubles
Boe and Mogensen reached the last 4 over Ivanov and Sozonov in two games to set up a semi final against Adcock and Ellis of England, who defeated the 3rd seeded Kindervater and Schoettler in a tight three game match to ensure Chris Adcock’s excellent week continues. Fuchs and Roth ensured at least one German presence in the last 4 with a victory over the 4th seeded Cwalina and Logosz and set up a semi final against the unseeded Danish pair of Bonde and Kristiansen who defeated Quere and Ronan of France.
Pedersen and Rytter Juhl relentless run to the last 4 continued with a 21-8, 21-7 victory over the on-form Piek and Tabelling and set up a semi final against Michels and Marinello of Germany who ended the run of Sweden’s Lennartsson and Wengberg in a two game quarter final. The other semi final sees Damkjaer Cruse and Roepke taking on the 2nd seeded Vislova and Sorokina, with the Russian pairing needing three games to progress against the 6th seeded Agathangelou and Olver of England.
The big shock in the mixed doubles was the loss of the top seeded Fischer Neilsen and Pedersen, after they crashed out to the 7th seeded Mateusiak and Zieba in two games. The Polish pair take on Adcock and Bankier, who saved a match point in the third game to eventually come through their all-British clash with Robertson and Wallwork to reach the last 4. Laybourn and Rytter Juhl take on their team mates Pieler Kolding and Houmann to ensure a Danish finalist in the mixed doubles with the 8th seeded Danes defeating the 3rd seeded Nikolaenko and Sorokina in three games to advance to the last 4.
Two of the Dutch seeds in the doubles both crashed out earlier today as there were shocks throughout the draw in Karlskona.
Two Swedes Into Last 8
Henri Hurskainen and Mattias Wigardt are both into the last 8 to the delight of the home crowd but face their toughest tests of the week as they take on the top 2 seeds in the draw next. Hurskainen defeated Lukas Schmidt and Ivan Sozonov, who defeated their 5th seeded Pablo Abian in his second round clash but the Swede defeated the Russian in two games to set up his quarter final against Peter Gade. The top seed defeated Ville Lang in his second round clash and defeated the Ukrainian Valeriy Atrashchenkov in two games to reach the last 8.
Mattias Wigardt takes on Jan O Jorgensen after wins over Stilian Makarski and Vladimir Ivanov to reach the last 8. Jorgensen defeated Kari Gunnarsson and Eetu Heino in straight games to safely progress into the quarter finals. The other two quarter finals sees the 7th seeded Viktor Axelsen take on Dieter Domke, who ended the run of the 3rd seeded Hans-Kristian Vittinghus on route to the last 8. The only quarter final with two seeds involved is between the 4th seeded Marc Zwiebler and 6th seeded Rajiv Ouseph, with both players not losing a game on route to the last 8.
Two Seeds Gone In Women’s Singles
Pi Hongyan was the biggest casualty in the women’s singles, losing her opening match to Germany’s Karin Schnaase before losing out in the next round to Kristina Gavnholt. The unseeded Czech takes on the 7th seeded Linda Zechiri who progressed without the loss of a game. Tine Baun set up her quarter final against Carolina Marin with two solid performances against two past Scottish Open winners in Judith Meulendijks
and Elizabeth, whilst the 6th seeded Marin defeated Tatjana Bibik and Neslihan Yigit to reach the last 8 in impressive fashion.
Jie Yao has been clinical in reaching the last 8, defeating Ellinor Widh and Kirsty Gilmour with the loss of just 40 points to date. Her opponent in the quarter final, Petya Nedelcheva as dropped just 35 points as the 3rd seeded Bulgarian reached the last 8 with little resistance. The last quarter final sees Juliane Schenk take on Switzerland’s Sabrina Jaquet, who defeated the 8th seeded Agnese Allegrini in two games to set up her quarter final against Schenk.
Double Disappointment For The Dutch
8th seeded Bosch and Ridder crashed out to the French pairing of Quere and Ronan in the third round, with the French pair being rewarded with a quarter final against Bonde and Kristiansen of Denmark who defeated their team mates and 2nd seeds, Conrad-Petersen and Rasmussen to reach the last 8. Boe and Mogensen are safely into the last 8, where they take on the Russian pair of Ivanov and Sozonov in their quarter final matchup.
Piek and Tabelling are one success story for the Dutch, reaching the last 8 after a third round win over Cooper and Gilmour of Scotland to set up a quarter final against the top seeded Pedersen and Rytter Juhl. However, there was disappointment for the 5th seeded Van Dooremalen and Jonathans as they lost out to Augustyn and Wojtkowska of Poland in two games, with the Polish pair taking on Damkjaer Cruse and Roepke in the their quarter final.
The mixed doubles got underway today, with all 8 seeds progressing into the quarter finals. The top seeded Fischer Nielsen and Pedersen take on the 7th seeded Mateusiak and Zieba after two straight forward victories. The 2nd seeded Danes Laybourn and Rytter Juhl take on Fuchs and Michels of Germany in their quarter final, with both pairs progressing without the loss of a game. The third Danish pair, 8th seeds Pieler Colding and Houmann take on the 3rd seeded Russian pairing of Nikolaenko and Sorokina, with the 3rd seeds needing just a single victory to progress into the last 8 after the withdrawal of Careme and Fontaine.
The last of the quarter finals is an all-British clash between the 4th seeded Adcock and Bankier against the 6th seeded Robertson and Wallwork. Whilst no ranking points are on offer this week, it is still a massive match with the Olympics just 100 days away. They are separated by just 10 spots in the world rankings and both pairs have taken a match in their two encounters previously this year.
Play began on Monday evening in the Telenor Arena in Karlskrona with a single match with resulted in a win for Sweden’s Magnus Sahlberg. The first full day of action seen just a sole seed crash out of the five events.
Dane Loom Large
The full compliment for the second round was completed today after Sahlberg’s win on Monday evening with four Danes in the draw. The top four seeds begin their campaigns tomorrow, with Peter Gade taking on Ville Lang whilst Jan O Jorgensen takes on Iceland’s Kari Gunnarsson. Hans Kristian Vittinghus is the 3rd seed this week and takes on Dieter Domke of Germany whilst Domke’s teammate, Marc Zwiebler takes on Petr Koukal of the Czech Republic after both Domke and Koukal defeated Scottish opponents in their opening round.
Viktor Axelsen completes the four, with the 7th seeded taking on Eric Pang who defeated France’s Brice Leverdez in one of the tightest games of the day, with the Dutchman taking the deciding game 23-21 after saving two match points.
The men’s doubles is a similar story with three Danish pairs into the last 16. Boe and Mogensen were relentless in their 21-5, 21-4 victory over Charalambidis and Orlis of Greece and take on the Polish pair of Moren and Szkudlarczyk in the 3rd round. The other two Danish pairs play against one another as Bonde and Kristiansen take on the 2nd seeded Conrad-Petersen and Rasmussen with a likely match against the 8th seeded Bosch and Ridder awaiting in the quarter finals.
Last week’s Dutch Open runners up De Ruiter and Khodabux take on the 5th seeded Ivanov and Sozonov of Russia in one of the matches of the day whilst another Dutch pairing in the last 16, Arends and Jelle taking on Fuchs and Roth of Germany, seeded 7 this week.
White and Wallwork Out
The only seed to crash out to date is the 8th seeded Wallwork and White in the women’s doubles, defeated by Piek and Tabelling who came within 2 points of winning the Dutch Open last week. The Dutch pair take on the Scottish pair of Cooper and Gilmour in the second round after coming through against their Estonian opponents Margus and Talviste 21-10, 21-8. The top seeded Pedersen and Rytter Juhl progressed safely into round 2, as well as the second seeded Russian pair of Vislova and Sorokina who set up a second round clash with the Swedish pair of Ekberg and Hogstrom.
The eight seeds in the women’s singles start their campaign tomorrow, with Tine Baun starting with a potentially tricky encounter with Judith Meulendijks whilst the second seed Juliane Schenk also has a tough opener against Denmark’s Line Kjaersfeldt. Karin Schnaase takes on the 4th seeded Pi Hongyan in another exciting second round encounter, whilst the 3rd seeded Petya Nedelcheva faces a tough last 16 clash against Karina Jorgensen or Anastacia Prokopenko should she defeated Slovenia’s Spela Silvester in her opening match of the week.
The home crowds were guaranteed at least one title, but Jie Yao doubled their tally on finals day.
Dutch Disappointment
The Malaysian pair of Heg and Teo defeated their second Dutch seed of the week, taking the men’s doubles title over the 3rd seeded De Ruiter and Khodabux in a three game, 52 minute matchup. There was also disappointment for the fans in the men’s singles final, as Anand Pawar withdrew before the start of play that meant Andre Kurniawan Tedjono claimed the title by walkover.
Mateusiak and Zieba claimed the mixed doubles title in their toughest match of the week, but still won in two games over the Russian pairing of Ashmarin and Panushkina with the top seeds winning 21-10, 21-19.
Dutch Delight
Jonathans and Van Dooremalen were taken the distance by their team mates Piek and Tabelling, with the top seeds eventually taking the title on the third attempt in the deciding game. The 65-minute match was the longest of the day with the top seeds winning 17-21, 21-19, 23-21.
Jie Yao ensured another title after ensuring a shock wasn’t on the cards against her Malaysian opponent Sonia Su Ya Cheah. After losing the opening game 21-19, the top seed allowed the unseeded Cheah just 21 points in the next two games to battle back to take the title 19-21, 21-9, 21-12.
Eric Pang was the biggest casualty today as the top seed in the men’s singles crashed out to India’s Anand Pawar.
Pawar Surges Into Final
After defeating Pang in his quarter final, Pawar then defeated the 3rd seeded Sri Lankan Niluka Karunaratne to book his place in the final against Andre Kurniawan Tedjono, who defeated the 4th seeded Dicky Palyama to ensure a double disappointment for the home fans.
Jie Yao is one of three potential Dutch winners on finals day, after victories over Simone Prutsch and Elizabeth Cann in her two matches today to ensure her place in the final against Sonia Su Ya Cheah of Malaysia. The unseeded player defeated the 4th seeded Schnaase in her quarter final and then beat Michelle Chan Ky, seeded 2 this week to reach the final.
One Doubles Title Assured
De Ruiter and Khodabux take on their own Malaysian opponent in the men’s doubles final, taking on Heg and Teo who are ranked 42 places below them in the world rankings. The Malaysian pair have already defeated the 2nd seeded Bosch and Ridder this week as well as the English pairing of Ellis and Langridge to reach the final.
One title is assured in the women’s doubles, with top seeded Van Dooremalen and Jonathans taking on the 3rd seeded Piek and Tabelling in an all-Dutch final. Only the top seeded pair have dropped a game this week in their semi final against Muskens and Peters to set up the first meeting between the pairs in international competition.
Mateusiak and Zieba are safely into the mixed doubles final and take on a Russian pair ranked almost 250 players lower than them in the world rankings. Ashmarin and Panushkina have dropped a single game on route to the final and survived a match point to ensure their place in the final. The top seeds Poles have been clinical in their route to the final, conceding double digits in just one of their six games to date.
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