China's Dominance Almost Certain

The Chinese domination of the 2009 Women’s Doubles looks likely to attempt a double in 2010 with 4 of the top 7 seeds being Chinese, with a new world champion guaranteed also with the 2009 champions with Zhang and Zhao not taking part this year.

The top seeds are the young Chinese pairing of Ma and Jin, much is expected of them after making the semi finals last year and they start their campaign in Round 2 against the American pairing of Wang and Wang, ranked 43^rd in the world. The 11^th seeded Sari and Yao from Singapore also receive a bye into round 2, and they will play the winner of Cooper and Slee of Australia and Ideh and Maria of Nigeria who are both ranked outside the top 100 in the world.

The Korean pair of Ha and Kim are seeded 6 for the championships and begin their run to the final against the world number 72 Swiss pairing of Gruber and Jacquet in round 2. The 16^th seed Gutta and Ponnappa start in round 1 against Barning and Muskens of Holland, before a likely matchup between the winners of the Edwards and Viljoen of South Africa and Ulitina and Voytsekh of the Ukraine.

Last years beaten finalists look to go one better as the 4^th seeded Cheng and Zhao begin with a first round bye before taking on Chang and Chou of Chinese Taipei, the world number 96. They are joined in this section by 14^th seeded Thai pairing of Arronkesorn and Voravichitchaikul who take on the Greek duo of Karkantzia and Ligomenou, ranked 147^th in the world. The other match in the section sees two of Europe’s best pairings go at it for a place in round 2 as Overzier and Marinello of Germany take on Denmark’s Damkjaer and Schjoett-Kristiansen, with both pairings ranked inside the top 30 in the world.

The 5^th seeded Japanese pairing of Miyuki and Suetsuna has a first round bye before taking on the Spanish pairing of Molina and Ojeda, ranked over 100 places lower in the world rankings. The 10^th seeded Bulgarian/Russian partnership of Nedelcheva and Russkikh take on the French pairing of Choinet and Rasidi The final match in the section is between England’s young pairing of Wallwork and White take on Canada’s St. Jacques and Cloutier for a place in round 2.

8^th seeded Koreans Hyun and Jung take on the Canadian pair of Gao and Ko, ranked 53^rd in their opening match after a first round bye, they are joined in their section by one of the top pairings on the EBU Circuit in Sorokina and Vislova who are ranked 12^th for the event. They take on Ukrainian pair Prus and Kobtseva in their opening round match and the final match sees another French pairing of Chanteur and Matias take on Czech duo Basova and Krizkova for a place in round 2.

One of the form pairs of the last month are seeded 3^rd, Chinese Taipei pairing of Cheng and Chien are the duo to look out for after wins in the US and Chinese Taipei in the last month, they begin with a second round match against Hong Kong’s Chan and Chau. The other seed in the section are the 13^th seeds Amitapal and Munkit of Thailand who take on Scotland’s Mason and Bankier who are both coming back from long-term injuries. The other match in the section is between Denmark’s Roepke and Kristiansen and Holland’s Van Dooremalen and Jonathans.

The 7^th seeded Pan and Tian might receive a first round bye, but their second round opponent will be a match for any partnership this season, they take on Korea’s Lee and Lee for a place in Round 3. The 9^th seeded Japanese pairing of Fujii and Kakiiwa are the other seeds in the section and take on Yeh and Yeh of the USA in their opening round match. Also in the section is the world number 25 pairing of Lennartson and Wengberg of Sweden, who take on Australian pair of Veeran and Tang for a place in the second round.

The 2^nd seeds begin their campaign against local pairing Fontaine and Luttmann for a place in round 3 of the competition. The 3^rd Japanese seeded pair of Matsuo and Naito are the 15^th seed for the event and take on the Polish pair of Poczyowiak and Wojtkowska for a place in the second round. The final match in the section sees the Belgian #1 duo of Annys and Corvillain take on Finland’s Rautala and Virta for a place in the second round of this years World Championships.

Women’s Doubles Draw

Team Peru Crushed By Korea

Day two had the remaining teams play their opening matches, as well as the arrival of Nigeria’s men’s team to the competition, albeit a day later than expected.

Thomas Cup:

Korean booked their place in the last 8 with a 5-0 win over Peru, meaning that China also qualify from Group Ar after their 5-0 win yesterday over the South Americans. Tomorrow’s match sets up to be a winner-take-all between Korea and China to see who tops the group. Japan is also through to the last 8 after defeating Nigeria 5-0, who arrived for this group match unlike yesterdays forfeit over Malaysia. The Nigerian’s failed to win a single game in any of the 5 matches against a relentless Japanese side. Hosts Malaysia will play tomorrow against the Japanese to determine the group winner, as well as the anticipated rematch between Kenichi Tago and Lee Chong Wei.

Germany defeated Poland 5-0 to dump the Poles out of the tournament, setting up a Zwiebler – Gade rematch tomorrow in the final Group C match to find out the group winner. Dieter Domke also has to continue his excellent form to stand a chance against Jan O Jorgensen in the second singles match tomorrow. Indonesia easily disposed of India in the Group D encounter, winning the match 4-1 overall but the main news from the match is Sony Dwi Kuncoro’s retirement in his singles against Arvind Bhatt, with the Indonesian player suffering a back injury in the second game of his match. India and Australia will play in the final group match tomorrow, with the winner progressing into the final 8.

Uber Cup:

Malaysia’s women started their campaign with a comfortable 5-0 win over the USA, conceding just two games in their victory. Both China and Malaysia are through from Group A, but will play tomorrow in the final league match to determine the top spot in the group,

Group B seen Denmark take on Australia, with the European powerhouses expected to coast into the last 8 with a comfortable victory. It started well for them with Camilla Sorensen’s two game victory over Erica Pong, but the next hour was a disaster for the Danes, with Karina Jorgensen losing to Renuga Veeran 20-22, 13-21 and then Mette Poulsen’s stunning collapse to Chia Chi Huang 11-21, 5-21 gave Australia an unlikely 2-1 lead. Pedersen and Rytter Juhl were needed to win just to keep Denmark in the rubber, 28 minutes later, the score was level at 2-2 with a 21-12, 21-19 victory for the Danish pair. Kristiansen and Ropke played the final match for Denmark against Tan and Huang of Australia, it resulted in the longest match of the five, but the Danes came through in two games, winning 21-13, 21-16 to book their place in the last 8, eliminating Australia but leaves a big question mark over Denmark’s credentials in the competition.

Juliane Schenk continued her run of good form to give Germany another lead today, this time against Russia as Schenk defeated Ella Diehl 21-16, 21-13 to give Germany a 1-0 lead in the rubber. It was the only lead that the Germans would have, as Bibik and Prokopenko thrust Russia into a 2-1 lead with tight victories over Schnaase and Deprez of Germany. Sorokina and Vislova made it 3-1 with a two game victory over Overzier and Schenk and the new partnership of Diehl and Russkikh completed the rout with a two game victory to book Russia’s place in the last 8.

India’s women had a better day than their male counterparts, defeating South Africa 5-0 to book their place in the last 8. Saina Newhal was on court less than 20 minutes in her victory over Kerry-Lee Harrington, with the remaining four matches taking just 79 minutes to be completed. India take on Korea tomorrow to determine top spot in the group.

Day 2 Results

Tine Takes Euro Title

Denmark dominance of European badminton was proved yet again with finalists in 4 of the 5 final in Manchester today, only the women’s doubles finalist was certain to have a non-Danish winner.

Mens Singles:

The top 2 seeds met in the men’s singles final in an All-Danish affair between Peter Gade and Jan O Jorgensen. The opening game started off evenly, with neither player about to create a gap of any merit. Towards the middle of the opening game, Peter Gade begun to string runs of 3 and 4 points together to create a sizable gap that Jorgensen was unable to pull back, Gade served out the opening game from 19-14 to win the opener.

The second game started well for Jorgensen, taking an early 6-2 advantage before the 4-time European champion strung 8 consecutive points together to take a 10-6 lead in the game. Jorgensen fought back to 10-12 but Gade reeled off another 7 point run to take a 19-10 lead which he was never going to give up and served out from 19-11 to take his fifth European title.

Women’s Singles

2^nd seeded Tine Rasmussen was hoping to continue her excellent run of form in 2010 with a victory over 3^rd seeded Juliane Schenk of Germany. However, the opening game was very much dominated by the German. Schenk led at 17-12 before Rasmussen brought it back level at 17-17 and the momentum was with the Dane for the remainder of the game, with Rasmussen taking the opening game 21-19.

Schenk response in the second game was fantastic however, domination the game much like the first but this time continued to score points late on in the game and the German levelled the match, winning the second game 21-14. The first part of the third game was very nervy and tight, with neither player being able to pull out a gap. At 13-12, Rasmussen managed to pull out a 4 point gap to 16-12, a gap that Schenk was never able to pull back after saving 2 match points previously, Rasmussen finished the job with her third match point, winning the final game 21-19.

Men’s Doubles:

There was another all-Danish final in the men’s doubles as the rematch from the All-England final between Paaske and Rasmussen playing Boe and Mogensen. The top seeded Boe and Mogensen were keen to avenge their All-England defeat but the second seeded Paaske and Rasmussen led throughout the opening game, but squandered three game points at 20-17 to allow the top seeds back into the opening game. They received two more opportunities to win the opening game before converting on their sixth attempt to take the game 24-22.

The second game was a complete role reversal, with Boe and Mogensen dominating the game before failing to convert on two game points at 20-18. Paaske and Rasmussen put together a run of 4 points from 20-18 to win the second game 22-20 and take the European crown to add to their All-England title.

Women’s Doubles:

The top two seeds met in the final, with three of the four players coming from Russia. The second seeded Russian duo of Nina Vislova and Valeria Sorokina had failed to drop a game on route to the final and that record remained unchanged with a fabulous display against the top seeded Nedelcheva and Russkikh, winning 21-18, 21-14 in just under three quarters of an hour.

Mixed Doubles:

Another clash of the top two seeds took place in the mixed doubles final between World Champions Laybourn and Rytter Juhl of Denmark and the 2009 Hong Kong Super Series winners, Mateusiak and Kostiuczyk of Poland. The match was three games of dominating badminton, with few lead changes throughout the games. The Danish pair dominated the opening game, with the second seeded Poles never leading in the opening game that they lost 21-19. The second game was a complete reverse, with the Polish pair dominating the second game, allowing the Danes to lead only twice in the entire second game at 1-0 and 6-5. Mateusiak and Kostiuczyk took the second game 21-18 to set up a third game.

The final game was a mirror of the first game, with the Danish pair leading from the start and not letting the Polish pair have a chance to take any kind of lead in the game. The 2^nd seeds pulled it back to 13-12 before the world champions strung together 8 consecutive points to add the European title to their world crown, winning the match 21-19, 18-21, 21-12 in exactly one hour.

European Badminton Championships 2010 Final Results

Gade Moves On To Semi-Finals

The English interest in the tournament is down to just three, whilst the Danish and German teams have plenty of interest in most of the events going into the weekend.

Mens Singles:

Top seed Peter Gade was in fine form after his 3 game scare against Raul Must yesterday, his opponent was the 8^th seeded Carl Baxter of England for a place in the last 4. 35 minutes is all it took for Gade to win the match by the score of 21-14, 21-11. The top seed Dane will play Marc Zweibler of Germany in the semi final after the German 3^rd seed beat 5^th seeded Dicky Palyama in their quarterfinal match. After dropping the opening game, Zweibler battled back to take the match 19-21, 21-10, 21-16.

The other semi final is between the 2^nd seeded Jan O Jorgensen, who defeated fellow Dane Joachim Persson in his quarterfinal 21-13, 21-17 to reach the last 4. He plays the 4^th seeded Englishman Rajiv Ouseph after he defeated the final unseeded player in the draw, Ireland’s Scott Evans in three games 15-21, 23-21, 21-12, with Scott Evans having a match point at 21-20 in the second game.

Women’s Singles

Pi Hongyan continues to live up to her top seed with a three game victory over the 5^th seeded Petya Nedelcheva, winning 21-15, 14-21, 21-12 to book her place in the semi final against Juliane Schenk of Germany, who beat the 7^th seeded Judith Meulendijks in three games also, winning 21-16, 16-21, 21-15 to set up the first semi final.

The second semi final sees the 6^th seeded Ella Diehl take on the 2^nd seeded Tine Rasmussen. The Russian defeated 4^th seeded Jie Yao in two games, 21-18, 21-17 to set up a match against the Danish 2^nd seeded. She defeated Scotland’s Susan Egelstaff in two games also, 21-8, 21-16.

Doubles:

The Danish domination in the men’s doubles continues, with all 3 seeded pairs safely progressing to the last 4 without the loss of a game at the quarterfinal stage. They are joined the semi finals by the German pair of Michael Fuchs and Ingo Kindervater, who defeated Peter Mills and Marcus Ellis of England in three games to progress to the last 4.

3 of the 4 seeds are still in the women’s doubles draw, with only the 3^rd seeded French pair of Choinet and Rasadi falling to English pair Agathangelou and Olver in three games.  The unseeded English ladies play top seeds Nedelcheva and Russkikh for a place in Sunday’s final. The other semi final is between Danes Damkjear Kruse and Schjott-Kristensen, seeded 4 and Vislova and Sorokina of Russia, seeded 2.

The top three seeds in the mixed doubles have been joined in the semi finals by Belgian duo Claes and Descamps, they defeated Kindervater and Overzier in three games to set up a match against top seeded Laybourn and Rytter Juhl of Denmark. The other semi final is between Poland’s Mateusiak and Kostiuczyk and England’s Robertson and Wallwork, with both pairs coming through their quarterfinal matches in two games.

Friday’s Results

Clark Withdraws

The doubles competitions began play this morning in Manchester, as well the 3^rd round of the singles, with no more seeds falling in either event. The big news of the day for the local fans was Anthony Clark’s withdrawal from both doubles events.

Mens Singles:

Peter Gade is through to the last 8, but was forced to work for his win against Raul Must of Estonia. The Estonian shocked the top seed and took the second game to set up a 3^rd game, but after 69 minutes the top seed progressed into tomorrow’s quarterfinals, winning 21-15, 19-21, 21-18. Gade will play Carl Baxter in the last 8, after the English 8^th seed defeated Jan Vondra 21-16, 21-9 in his 3^rd round match today.

There also wins for Rajiv Ouseph and Dicky Palyama, both players winning in three games to book their place in the last 8. England were hopeful of a 3^rd player in the last 8 as Andrew Smith took on Marc Zweibler of Germany in the last 16, but after sharing the opening 10 points, Zweibler took the next 8 before Andrew Smith retired through injury trailing 13-5 in the first game.

The last unseeded player in the draw is Ireland’s Scott Evans, who plays Rajiv Ouseph in the last 8 tomorrow. The 4^th quarterfinal is an all-Danish affair, with Joachim Persson (Seeded 6) playing Jan O Jorgensen (Seeded 2) for a place in Saturday’s semi final.

Women’s Singles

All 8 seeds have safely progressed into the last 8, with only 6^th seed Ella Diehl dropping a game so far. Pi Hongyan continues to dominate her half of the draw, today defeating Camilla Sorensen of Denmark, 21-18, 21-5 to book her place against Petya Nedelcheva, who defeated England’s Elizabeth Cann 21-13, 21-13 to progress into tomorrow’s quarterfinal.

Juliane Schenk will play Judith Meulendijks tomorrow in the second quarterfinal, 3^rd seeded Schenk defeated Switzerland’s Jeanine Cicognini 21-19, 21-9 whilst 7^th seeded Meulendijks beat Iceland’s Ranga Ingolfsdottir 21-15, 21-10 to book her place in tomorrow’s quarter final.

The bottom half of the draw sees Ella Diehl, seeded 6^th play Yao Jie of the Netherlands for a place in the last 4. The Dutch 4^th seed beat Karin Schnaase of Germany 21-16, 21-7 to progress whist the 6^th seeded Russian had to come from a game down to beat England’s Helen Davies 17-21, 21-16, 21-11.

Susan Egelstaff, seeded 8 is through to play Tine Rasmussen of Denmark, the 2^nd seed in the last of the quarterfinals tomorrow. Both ladies have failed to drop a game getting to this stage of the competition, with Susan Egelstaff dropping 4 less points to this stage and been on court just 3 minutes less than her Danish opponent.

Doubles:

In the Men’s Doubles, all 3 of the seeded Danish pairs have safely made into the last 8. Only the pre-tournament withdrawal of the 3^rd seeded Robertson and Clark means that there isn’t a full compliment of seeds in the last 8. However there is English interest still, with Peter Mills and Marcus Ellis through to the last 8 to play German pair Michael Fuchs and Ingo Kindervater.

All 4 seeds in the Women’s Doubles are through, with neither of the four pairs losing a game on route to the last 8. The top seeded Nedelcheva and Russkikh play Frier Kristiansen and Ropke of Denmark, who progressed to the last 8 with a 21-10, 21-1 win over their Greek opponents in Round 2. The 2^nd seeded Russian duo of Vislova and Sorokina play the Scottish pair of Emma Mason and Imogen Bankier who failed to drop a game in both their matches today.

Only 4 seeds remain from the 8 that begun the mixed doubles, top seeds and current world champions Laybourn and Rytter Juhl safely progressed through both matches today to reach the last 8 and are the only seed remaining in the top half of the draw after losing Middleton and Agathangelou (Seeded 6), Durkin and Vislova (Seeded 4) and Adcock and White (Seeded 7) in the opening round this morning. Jenny Wallwork and Nathan Robertson are the last English pair left in the competition, the 3^rd seeds play Sorokina and Nikolaenko of Russia for a place in the last 4.

Thursday’s Results

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

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