Denmark Dominates On Home Soil
Denmark was in dominant form much of the week and that wouldn’t change on finals day of the FZ Forza Denmark International. The only final that didn’t feature all Danish players was the womens singles where Anastasia Prokopenko faced off against Agnese Allegrini. Prokopenko won the match and the championship with two straight games 21-15, 21-15.
The top seeded mens singles player Jan Jorgensen had a similarly straight forward win as was the case much of the week for the speedy Dane. A more straight forward path to the finals must have helped Jorgensen as he defeated his fellow countryman Hans Kristian Vittinghus in two games 21-15, 21-12. Vittinghus had to struggle through a number of 3 game matches to find his place in the final, and it appeared to have taken it’s toll on him.
In the womens doubles Line Kruse and Marie Røpke continued their amazing run by defeating their higher ranked compatriots Maria Helsbøl and Anne Skelbæk in two games 21-14, 21-14.
Maria Helsbøl would have to suffer disappointment once again in the mixed doubles when she and her partner Rasmus Bonde were defeated by second seeds Mad Pieler Kolding and Julie Houmann 21-13, 21-15.
Finally in the mens doubles in yet another all Danish affair Rasmus Bonde was able to make up for his mixed doubles loss when him and Anders Kristiansen won a close three game match over Mikkel Elbjørn Larsen and Christian Skovgaard 21-14, 19-21, 21-16.
Full Results
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
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