Axelsen Man Handles the Competition
The talk of qualifying was Viktor Axelsen’s progression into the main draw with three victories in two games on Thursday. He continued his outstanding form with a win over Tomas Kopriva, again in two games and then his fifth two game win over Valeriy Atrashchenkov to set up a quarter final match against the 4th seeded Scott Evans of Ireland.
Vladimir Malkov, the 7th seed was beaten by Atrashchenkov in Round 1 before his defeat to Axelsen. The 6th seeded Stephan Wojcikiewicz lost to Finland’s Eetu Heino, who then defeated Pavel Florian of the Czech Republic to set up a quarter final match with Rune Ulsing of Denmark.
Four seeds remain in the women’s singles draw, with top seeded Judith Meulendijks pulling out pre-event. 5th seed and local hope Kristina Ludikova was beaten in the second round in three games by Mariya Diptan to set up a quarter final match with Tatjana Bibik of Russia. 4th seeded Maja Tvrdy lose in the opening round to another Ukrainian, Mariya Ulitina who then lost to Belarus’ Alesia Zaitsava. The 2nd seeded Larisa Griga is also out, losing in the second round to English qualifier Sarah Walker.
The English final in the men’s doubles is still on, as the top two seeds both from England are safely into the last 8. Eliis and Mills winning in three games over Konoc and Zavadsky whilst Langridge and Middleton defeated Cwalina and Logosz in two games. The French 3rd seeds of Constantin and Vincent are also safely into the last 8, with a two game win over their French compatriots Labar and Quere.
The four seeds in the women’s doubles are all safely through to the last 8 without the loss of a game between the quartet. Whilst in the mixed doubles, only one seed from four remain, with Durkinjak and Pozananovic progressing into the last 8. Atrashchenkov’s poor day continued as he crashed out in the second round with partner Elena Prus, as the top seeds lost to Dutch duo of Arens and Piel.
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
As day one closed India has secured themselves six places in the last sixteen of the men’s singles event. Unfortunately for them they are mostly playing each other now. Second seed Chetan Anand is likely their best hope for this title. The top seed from Malaysia, Wong Choong Han had a scare against Valerly Atrashchenkov, narrowly winning 18-21, 21-9, 21-19. A surprise in the first round was the loss of Carl Baxter from England to Marcel Reuter from Belgium for the second time this season, surely the Englishman won’t be visiting Bruge anytime soon.
The talk of the day in the women’s singles was the loss of the top seeded Petya Nedelcheva to qualifier Olga Konon in two straight games 21-18, 21-17. In fact, Nedelcheva was the only seed to fall in the women’s singles today.
Tomorrow will feature some more exciting badminton, so be sure to check back for results from the second day of the Yonex Dutch Open 2009. Click below for full results:
Yonex Dutch Open 2009 Draws
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