Tine Baun’s stunning career ends on a high, with a three game victory over Ratchanok Inthanon to claim the women’s singles title in her final match. China claimed three titles on finals day, with Indonesia claiming the fifth title on finals day with Ahmad and Natsir.
Chen Long Defeats Lee Chong Wei
Lee Chong Wei’s perfect run in 2013 was ended by Chen Long in the men’s singles final, with the 2nd seeded Chinese player claiming his first All England title in two games, winning 21-17, 21-18 for the first of the Chinese titles this week.
Liu and Qiu defeated the Japanese pair of Endo and Hayakawa in the men’s doubles in a one-sided final, with the unseeded Chinese pair winning 21-11, 21-9 for their first All England title. Wang and Yu made it three titles for the Chinese squad as they defeated another Chinese pairing, Cheng and Zhao in two games.
Ahmad And Natsir Retain Title
The second seeded Indonesian pairing of Ahmad and Natsir successfully defended their All England title against the Olympic champions Zhang and Zhao. They took the advantage early in the first game with a run of six consecutive points to turn a 4-2 deficit into an 8-4 lead which they didn’t give up, winning the first game 21-13. The second game was a closer encounter but the Indonesian pair won the second game 21-17 to retain their mixed doubles title.
Baun Caps Off Career With Victory
Tine Baun claimed Europe’s only title this week with a three game victory over one of the rising stars of the game, Ratchanok Inthanon. The 53-minute match was Baun’s final match of her career and it was the perfect ending to one of Europe’s most successful player, with Baun winning the match 21-14 16-21 21-10.
Finals Results:
http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/matches.aspx?id=2CA59D61-4728-46BA-A9CD-1FB8AC4FDDB5&d=20130310
Tine Baun’s final tournament ends on finals day after her toughest match of the week ended with a victory over Sung Ji Hyun after a 76 minute marathon in their semi final. The remaining four events all have Chinese interest even with countless seeds crashing out before Sunday.
Chen Long Holds Of Jorgensen
Chen Long like Tine Baun had the toughest test of his title credentials to date with a tough two game victory over Jan O Jorgensen, even though the 2nd seed did drop a game against Boonsak Ponsana. Lee Chong Wei had a first game scare against Saensomboonsuk before securing his place in the final and his 13th meeting gainst Chen Long. The Malaysia has won 7 of their 12 encounters but it was Chen Long that came out on up in their most recent match in late 2012 at the Hong Kong Super Series.
Baun Reaches All England Final For Fourth Time
Both of the finalists defeated higher seeded opponents in the semi finals, with Ratchanok Inthanon defeating Saina Nehwal in two games after her victory over Juliane Schenk in the last 8. Tine Baun defeated Sung Ji Hyun in her semi final to set up a 5th meeting between the two, with the 18-year old from Thailand winning the last two meetings at the latter half of 2012
Chinese Contingent In Doubles
China are guaranteed at least one title this week, with Wang and Yu taking on Cheng and Zhao in the women’s doubles final after the unseeded pair defeated the 5th seeded Ma and Tang on route to a meeting with the world number 1 pairing. The two pairings have met five times, but the last time was in 2010 before Zhao Yunlei teamed up with Tian Qing.
Liu and Qiu defeated their second seeded pair of the week, beating Ahsan and Setiawan in three games to set up a meeting with a third seeded pair in the final. Endo and Hayakawa defeated Jongjit and Puangpuapech to reach the final against the unseeded Chinese pair. The two pairs have played each other twice, with their most recent meeting in India going the way of the Japanese pair in three games.
The Olympic champions Zhang and Zhao take on the reigning All England Champions in the mixed doubles final with both pairs coming through their semi final against Indonesian opponents to set up a seventh metting with the Indonesian pair. The Indonesian pair won their previous meeting in the Denmark Super Series Premier in two games but the Chinese pair have won four of their last six meetings.
Semi Final Results:
http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/matches.aspx?id=2CA59D61-4728-46BA-A9CD-1FB8AC4FDDB5&d=20130309
Quarterfinal day was a mini-revival for the Chinese team, but even then their involvement in the women’s singles ended with Wang Shixian crashed out at the hands of Saina Nehwal. Denmark has interest in both the men’s and women’s singles and will be Europe’s sole two players playing this weekend.
Lee Chong Wei Takes On Saensomboonsuk
A relative unknown at the highest level, Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk’s sensational week has him into the semi final stage where he takes on Lee Chong Wei. The world number 37 had to go through the qualifying stage before embarking on a remarkable run that almost ended at the first round, saving three match points against Hu Yun. Victories over Sho Sasaki and Tommy Sugiarto in two games has seen him reach the semi finals and a seventh meeting against the world number 1, who has won their previous 6 matches.
Chen Long takes on Jan O Jorgensen with the Dane’s decision to not take part in the European Team championships last month has paid off with his stunning form this week, punctuated in the quarter final with a 21-7, 21-14 victory over Chen Jin. Chen Long has been equally as impressive, defeating Kashyap Parupalli in his quarter final to set up their first meeting in over two years against Jorgensen.
Baun Two Steps From The Title
A convincing victory over Lindaweni has Tine Baun into the last 4 but faces a tough challenge against Sung Ji Hyun but the Dane’s record against the 5th seed is in Baun’s favour. Five straight victories over the Korean will make Baun the favourite in the semi final. The other semi final sees Saina Nehwal takes on Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon, who defeated Juliane Schenk in the quarter final and defeated Nehwal in their last meeting in late 2012. The women’s singles is the only event at this stage with four seeds remaining in the draw and will likely be the hardest of the events to predict.
Chinese Interest In All Three Doubles Events
Liu and Qiu flag the flag for China in a men’s doubles event that has seen the seeds tumble day after day. The unseeded Chinese pair take on the 8th seeded Ahsan and Setiawan, a new Indonesian partnership but a dangerous duo that defeated Chai and Zhang in their opening round match. Endo and Hayakawa take on the unseeded Thai pairing of Jongjit and Puangpuapech, who are playing their first tournament together as a partnership and defeated Koo and Tan on route to the semi finals.
Wang and Yu are the undoubted favourites in the women’s doubles and take on Japan’s Maeda and Suetsuna in their semi final, with the Chinese pairing winning all four of their previous encounters. Ma and Tang are the second Chinese pair left in the draw and take on the third Chinese pair in the last 4, Cheng and Zhao. The two pairs met in last week’s German Open with Ma and Tang winning in two games.
Xu and Ma were the latest top seed to crash out this week, losing to Rijal and Susanto in three games and their next match is just as difficult if not harder against the current Olympic champions. Zhang and Zhao have won all 6 of their previous matches, with the Indonesian pair failing to win a single game in any of the matches. Two more Indonesian pairs face over in the second semi final, with Kido and Zebediah taking on Ahmad and Natsir – the 2012 winners. It will be their fourth meeting and like the first semi final, Ahmad and Natsir have won all three matches, but Kido and Zebadiah have claimed a game in their first meeting against the 2nd seeds but that was almost 9 months ago and the previous two matches have been a much more one-sided affair.
Quarter Final Results:
http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/matches.aspx?id=2CA59D61-4728-46BA-A9CD-1FB8AC4FDDB5&d=20130308
It was a second day of big name casualties in Birmingham, with Denmark’s Boe and Mogensen being the biggest scalp of the day. Liu and Qiu claimed one of just eight Chinese victories in their win over the Danes as they stranglehold on world badminton is as loose as ever in recent memory.
Lee Chong Wei Into Last 8
Lee Chong Wei’s spectacular 2013 continued with a two-game victory over Wang Zhengming, his 11th win of the year without a loss to date. Vietnam’s Tien Minh Nguyen will be the Malaysian’s opponent in the last 8, with the previous seven encounters going to the world number 1, all in two games. Jan O Jorgensen is Europe’s last hope of any success in the competition and benefitted from Sony Dwi Kuncoro’s retirement in their match to set up a quarter final against Chen Jin of China, who defeated another Chinese player, Chen Yuekun on route to the last 8.
Chen Long takes on India’s Kashyap Parupalli in the quarter final after he defeated Kenichi Tago in his second round clash whilst Chen Long beat Japan’s Takuma Ueda to book his place in the last 8.
Baun Reaches Last 8
Li Han provided an ample test for Tine Baun in their second round clash, but the 25-year old Chinese player was no match for Tine Baun, in her final All England Championships. Her half of the draw has opened up with the Chinese seeds already out, with Wang Yihan’s conquerer waiting in the quarter final stage. Sung Ji Hyun is the only other remaining seed in the top half, with the 5th seed taking on Eriko Hirose of Japan in the second of the quarter finals.
A full compliment of seeds in the bottom half means two excellent encounters, with Wang Shixian taking on Saina Nehwal and Racthanok Intanon taking on Juliane Schenk for two places in the semi finals. Nehwal has beaten Wang Shixian in their previous three encounters whilst it will be the 7th meeting between Schenk and Intanon, with their most famous encounter coming at the 2012 Olympics that the Thai player won in two games.
Seeds Topple In Doubles
Just three seeds remain in the men’s doubles, with Endo and Hayakawa being the highest seeds left. The 4th seeded Japanese pair take on the 6th seeded Kim and Kim to ensure another seed falls before the last 4. Ahsan and Setiawan are the sole seeds left in the top half of the draw and take on Hoon and Tan of Malaysia for a place in the last 4.
Even the women’s doubles has had it’s share of seeds crash out, the 4th seeded Eom and Jang being the latest pair to crash out at the hands of Hoo and Woon of Malaysia. Wang and Yu take on Jung and Kim in the featured match of the four quarter finals and have played once since their Olympic farce, with the Chinese pair winning in two games.
Chan and Goh’s were the biggest casualty of the mixed doubles draw today, losing to Indonesia’s Kurniawan and Irawati who are rewarded with a quarter final match against the current Olympic champions Zhang and Zhao of China. Xu and Ma also reached the last 8, with an all-Chinese semi final looming should they defeat Rijal and Susanto as well as Zhang and Zhao winning their quarter final clash.
Day 2 Results:
http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/matches.aspx?id=2CA59D61-4728-46BA-A9CD-1FB8AC4FDDB5&d=20130307
The first full day of play begun in Birmingham with the organisers hoping not to repeat the farcical start to the 2012 tournament. Play begun at 9am on Wednesday and mercifully ended on Wednesday, albeit well after 11pm but the first day of this years edition of the All England will be remembered for the amount of seeds crashing out on the opening day of play.
Seeds Tested in Men’s Singles
Kenichi Tago was the sole seed that progressed into the second round without the loss of a game, defeating Viktor Axelsen in his opening round match. Hu Yun and Du Pengyu were the big name casualties of the first round, with Lee Chong Wei, Chen Long, Sony Dwi Kuncoro, Chen Jin and Tien Minh Nguyen all needing three games to progress to the last 16.
Lee Chong Wei takes on Wang Zhengming in the pick of the second round matches, with Chen Long also likely to be tested against Takuma Ueda of Japan. Jan O Jorgensen flys the flag for Europe and takes on Sony Dwi Kuncoro in a miserable day for European badminton, with just six wins coming in 29 matches over the course of the opening days play.
Chinese Misery In Women’s Singles
There is usually five to seven Chinese players left in the draw at the last 16 stage, but this week just three remain. Li Han takes on Tine Baun whilst the other two Chinese players, Wang Shixian and Jiang Yanjiao play against one another in the second round. The major shocks in the competition come at the expense of China with Olympic champion Li Xuerui losing in two games to Bae Yeon Ju whilst the third seeded Wang Yihan lost to Indonesia’s Lindaweri Fanetri, also in two games.
Both Saina Nehwal and Wang Shixian needed three games to ensure their passage into the second round but there was no such trouble for the European seeds. Juliane Schenk set up a tough second round match against P.V. Sindhu and Tine Baun’s future in the All England and her career will be tested to the full by Li Han of China.
Lee/Ko Crash Out
A pre-match withdrawal from Cai and Fu weakened the event but the shock loss of Lee and Ko to Germany’s Kindervater and Schoettler was perhaps the biggest positive from a European standpoint on the day. The loss of Cai and Fu as well as Lee and Ko has made the top half of the men’s doubles draw all the easier for the top seeded Boe and Mogensen, who take on China’s Liu and Qiu in tomorrow’s second round.
Moren and Szkudlarczyk provided their own shock in the bottom half, with a three game victory over the 5th seeded Hong and Shen to ensure there would not be a full compliment of seeds in the bottom half of the draw. Koo and Tan defeated Ellis and Adcock to end English hopes in the competition, with Robert Blair partnering Tan Bin Shen who take on the 4th seeded Endo and Hayakawa in the second round.
Asian Dominance In Women’s Doubles
The second seeded Danish pair of Pedersen and Rytter Juhl crashed out to Bao and Tian in the opening round, ending any hope of a European threat in the women’s doubles. Wang and Yu progressed safely into the second round, joined there by Ma and Tang as well as Cheng and Zhao. Zhao and Tian were previously partners but will play against one another for the first time in their new partnerships in the second round tomorrow.
The sixteen remaining pairs all hail from Asia, with all four European pairs crashing out in the first round. Jenny Wallwork’s retirement in the days leading up to the All England surprised many and asks the question about how far her and partner Alex Langley would have gone in the event this year.
Danish Disaster In Mixed Doubles
Christinna Pedersen’s opening day ended in disaster as her and partner Joachim Fischer Neilsen were the only seeds not the progress into the last 16, beaten by the Indonesian pair of Kido and Bernadeth. Xu and Ma defeated Adcock and White to set-up an all-Chinese second round match against Qiu and Bao. Zhang and Zhao made light work of another Danish pair, Pieler Kolding and Rytter Juhl to reach the last 16.
Day 1 Results:
http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/matches.aspx?id=2CA59D61-4728-46BA-A9CD-1FB8AC4FDDB5&d=20130306
Lee Chong Wei returned to action after a one day hiatus and spent just 25 minutes securing his place in the last 4 with a resounding 21-12, 21-9 victory over Hu Yun. With three Malaysian players left in the events and two being top seeded, Malaysian success in multiple events is a real possibility.
Lee Chong Wei’s opponent in the semi final will be Denmark’s Jan O Jorgensen who ended hopes of an all-Malaysian semi final with his three game victory over Daren Liew. The second semi final sees Kenichi Tago facing Sony Dwi Kuncoro after the Indonesian defeating Tago’s countryman, Sho Sasaki. It will be their 4th meeting, with Kuncoro winning all of the previous three encounters, but their last meeting was almost 4 years ago.
The women’s singles has been a compilation of unlikely storylines. Only Saina Nehwal can be expected to be at this stage but was taken to a third game by Nozomi Okuhara before her retirement trailing 2-0 in the deciding game. Nehwal’s opponent in the semi final is Tai Tzu Ying, who registered her first victory over Tine Baun to reach the last 4. Bae Yeon Ju has defeated two seeds on her route to the last 4, beating Minatsu Mitani in her quarter final match to set up a semi final against Yao Xue of China. The world number 151 was a qualifier this week and there is 136 places in the world rankings between her and Bae in what will be their first meeting.
Lee and Ko continue their impressive run in 2013 with a two game victory over Hashimoto and Hirata and set up a semi final against Goh and Lim of Malaysia, who ended the run of the Korean qualifiers Lee and Kang. Ivanov and Sozonov crashed out at the hands of the Chinese pair of Chai and Liu in a tight third game that allowed the unseeded pair to progress to take on another unseeded pair in Ahsan and Setiawan. The Indonesian’s defeated the second seeded Endo and Hayakawa in two games to ensure at least one unseeded pair in Sunday’s final.
Bao and Tian defeated the top seeded pair of Pedersen and Rytter Juhl in two convincing games to book their place in the last 4. Two seeded pairs will meet in the bottom half of the draw, with Sari and Yao of Singapore taking on Matsutomo and Takahashi in their first ever meeting in the semi finals tomorrow.
A potential all-European final could be on the cards, but the top seeded Goh and Lim will have their own ambitions of reaching Sunday’s final. The Malaysian’s takes on the European champions, Mateusiak and Zieba in their third meeting with the momentum definitely with Goh and Lim who won their previous two meetings. Indonesian qualifiers Jordan and Marissa take on the second seeded Fischer Nielsen and Pedersen, who won the all-Danish quarter final against Kristiansen and Houmann in two games. The gap in the world rankings is a remarkable 320 places but the Indonesian pair have defeated two seeds already just to reach the last 4.
Quarter Final Results:
http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/matches.aspx?id=B54ED855-3BE8-4CF0-AA49-FA51CFD051F5&d=20130118
Lee Chong Wei had a day off today as Boonsak Ponsana withdrew ahead of his match with the top seed and defending champion. There were two other big name withdrawals today, with Taufik Hidayat and the top seeded pair in the men’s doubles Koo and Tan pulled out ahead of their respective matches.
It is a rare cosmopolitan bunch in the last 8 of a men’s singles, with Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, Indonesia and Denmark all having at least one interest in the event at this stage. Hong Kong’s Hu Yun takes on the world number one in the first quarter final with a potential all-Malaysian semi final waiting if Daren Liew can defeat the 6th seeded Jan O Jorgensen in the second of the quarter finals. The bottom half is headlined by Kenichi Tago, who takes on Denmark’s Hans-Kristian Vittinghus who defeated the Japanese player at the Super Series Finals last month. Sho Sasaki takes on Sony Dwi Kuncoro in the last of the semi finals, with the Indonesian breaking into the top 5 in the world rankings and could go even higher with a good run in Malaysia.
Saina Newhal had little trouble in reaching the last eight to set up a quarter final against Nozomi Okuhara, with the Indian edging ever closer to the world number 1 in the women’s singles. Tine Baun is also through to the last 8 after defeating China’s Yu Sun and set up a quarter final against Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei. There is an all-Chinese quarter final but not from the usual players, with Xuan Deng taking on Yao Xue with both players ranked outside the top 100. Bae Yeon Ju won the all-Korean clash against Sung Ji Hyun to end the 4th seeds unbeaten start to 2013 and takes on Minatsu Mitani, who broke into the world’s top 10 in the latest world rankings.
Koo and Tan’s withdrawal in the men’s doubles has opened the door for Lee and Ko to potential make it two titles from two in 2013. The Korean pair takes on Hashimoto and Hirata, who they overtook in the world rankings this week and the winner will be the last seed left in the top half of the draw. Ivanov and Sozonov are the sole European pair left in the draw and they take on Chai and Liu who won the all-Chinese match against Qiu and Zhang to reach the last 8.
Ma and Tang were the biggest casualties in the women’s doubles, defeated by Gadre and Ponnappa in the second round. There were no such problems for the top seeded Pedersen and Rytter Juhl and 5th seeded Bao and Tian who meet in the quarterfinal. Four Asian pairings make up the bottom half of the draw, with 2nd seeded Matsutomo and Takahashi taking on the unseeded Ko and Yoo of Korea whilst the second Japanese pair of Kakiiwa and Fujii take on Sari and Yao.
Top seeded Chan and Goh set up an all-Malaysia quarter final against Tan and Lai after both pairs defeated European opposition to reach the last 8. European champions Mateusiak and Zieba take on Chrisnanta and Neo of Sinagpore in the second quarter final in the top half of the draw. An all-Danish quarter final between Fischer Neilsen and Pedersen who take on Kristiansen and Houmann in their first meeting competitively. Zhang and Tang are the sole Chinese pair left in the draw and take on Indonesia’s Jordan and Marissa, who defeated another Indonesian pair, the 3rd seed Rijal and Susanto.
Day 2 Results:
http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/matches.aspx?id=B54ED855-3BE8-4CF0-AA49-FA51CFD051F5&d=20130117
Destination two for the Super Series takes the players to Kuala Lumpur and to world number 1 Lee Chong Wei’s homeland as he looks to successfully defend his title from 2012. A distinct lack of Chinese seeds throughout the draw has opened the opportunity for some of the lesser-known players to reach the latter stages this week.
Lee Chong Wei opened his campaign in spectacular style, demolishing Viktor Axelsen 21-8, 21-10 to set a marker for the rest of draw that he is in excellent form this week after his victory in Seoul on Sunday. Second seeded Kenichi Tago similarly had little problems in progressing to the second round but losses for Wang Zhengming and Tien Minh Nguyen in the first round has opened the draw out further with the 3rd seeded Nguyen losing in three games to Taufik Hidayat who could be a potential semi finalist against Lee Chong Wei.
Ratchanok and Schenk’s withdrawal ensured an even weaker draw in the women’s singles without any of the top Chinese players present this week. Top seed Saina Nehwal will not complain as she progressed into the second safely after a comfortable two-game victory. Tine Baun needed three games to defeat P.V. Sindhu in her second to last Super Series and will take on Sun Yu of China in the second round. The match of the second round will be the all-Korean clash between Sung Ji Hyun and Bae Yeon Ju after both recorded victories in their opening round matches. The lower ranking Bae holds a 2-1 advantage but Sung took their most recent matchup in the Korea Open two years ago.
Top seeded Koo and Tan set up an all-Malaysia second round match against Goh and Lim with a potential Malaysian opponent waiting in the next round in Hoon and Tan, seeded 5th this week. Lee and Ko are a potential semi final opponent, with the 6th seeded Korean’s defeating Fuchs and Roth of Germany in two games to reach the last 16. The only two Chinese pairs in the draw will meet in the second round with Qiu and Zhang taking on Chai and Liu in their first meeting.
The only top seeded Europeans, Pedersen and Rytter Juhl progressed in three games to set up a rare all-European match in the second round against Goliszewski and Michels of Germany. The second seeded Matsutomo and Takahashi dropped just 14 points on route to a second round match against England’s Olver and Robertshaw who benefitted from a retirement in their opening round match. Giving blood in the cause of reaching the second round is not common within badminton, but Jillie Cooper managed to do just that playing with Kirsty Gilmour on route to a two game victory over Ho and Yap of Malaysia. They take on the Korean pairing of Ko and Yoo in their second round match, who defeated the 7th seeded Jauhari and Polii of Indonesia. Two Chinese pairs remain massive threats for the title with Ma and Tang winning in three games and Bao and Tian needing three games also to reach the second round.
Chan and Goh survived a massive scare in their opening round match, needing to save three match points to remain in the competition against the Thai pairing of Prapakamol and Aroonkesorn. Their opponents in the second round are even more fortunate to be in the last 16, Pieler Kolding and Rytter Juhl saved seven match points over the course of two games to win 19-21, 24-22, 24-22 and ensure their place in the second round. The second seeded Danish pair of Fischer Nielsen and Pedersen take on a new Chinese pairing feature one half of the Olympic gold pairing of Zhao Yunlei and partner Qiu Zihan, who needed three games to progress past qualifers Lee and Chau of Hong Kong.
Day 1 Results:
http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/matches.aspx?id=B54ED855-3BE8-4CF0-AA49-FA51CFD051F5&d=20130116
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