EUROPEAN JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS: Team event preview

Two years ago at the European Junior Championships held in the German town of Saarbrucken, the English squad was on top of the world after claiming the team event title. But this year at the Palabadminton in Milan all of the 29 participating countries have a chance to dethrone England. From big favorites as Denmark and the Netherlands up to complete outsiders like Iceland or Hungary.

By Elm Vandervorst, Badzine correspondent. Photos : Badmintonphoto (archives)

Divided into seven groups, all involved nations will try to qualify for the next round. Each group contains one seeded country and three other contestants, except for group 1 with five competitors. Based on their previous results, among others their victory at the last U17 Championship, Denmark is the top seed and one of the favorites. The Northern European powerhouse has a very balanced squad, but claiming another title will be easier said than done. The Danish boys and girls will have to deal with “neighbors” Finland and Norway. Greece and Bulgaria are the two remaining participants of this pentad.

In group 2, the Dutch squad is clear favorite. After their silver medal at the previous edition, they’ll only settle for a golden one this year. The Netherlands can count on their “experienced” female twosome Selena Piek and Iris Tabeling, who made it all to the final of the latest German Junior. But also the rest of the team will be hard to beat. Their first opponent Portugal has with Pedro Martins one of the most gifted youngster around, but they’ll probably battle for the second spot together with Lithuania and Hungary.

Reigning champion England will have a difficult task to extend their title, but surviving the group phase is an absolute must. They have some very talented youngsters, demonstrated by the several quarter finals at both the Dutch and German Junior some months ago. Romania, Spain and Austria are England’s adversaries in group 3.

In the 4th Group, Russia is considered a main contender for the championship. An extremely strong female delegation certainly will get them past the first round. Natalie Perminova en Romina Gabdullina already won gold and silver at the Dutch Junior in February and also their female double teams proof to be tough to overcome. But will the Russian boys be able to compete at the same level? Host Italy, Wales and Switzerland will combat for the remaining spots.

Group 5 is on paper the most difficult to predict. Ukraine is classified as the fifth seed but the Scottish squad includes a very gifted generation, with for example their mixed pair Van Rietvelde-Sloan. Even Sweden and Turkey aren’t prospectless to prevail.

France is without a doubt the top favorite in group 6. One of the upcoming stars of French badminton is Alexandre Francoise who was successful at both the Belgian as Polish Junior in the beginning of 2009. Nevertheless the French have to get rid of Slovenia, Belgium and the Czech Republic. Three countries who should be able to steal some gained points from the French force.

In the last cluster, seventh seed Germany booked some great results in their home country at the German Open. Especially their women’s duo Nelte – Burkert impressed. Poland will be their biggest competitor for a spot in the next round. For both Estonia and Iceland, the group phase will likely be their last stop

INDIA OPEN - Taufik & Pi Crowned India Open Champions

It was back to winning ways for Badminton’s Prodigal Son as Taufik Hidayat was crowned the “Nizam” of the India Open 2009 at Hyderabad today. Taufik last topped a podium at the last Grand Prix Gold event in Macau. Pi Hongyan, on the other hand, scooped her first title in nearly three years while youngsters Ma Jin and Wang Xiaoli took their first title since their junior days.

By Gaurav Gupta, Badzine Correspondent live in Hyderabad.
Photos: Gaurav Gupta (live) and Badmintonphoto.com (archives)There could be no better treat for the fans gathered at the Gachi Bowli stadium than to witness Hidayat’s win against Md Hafiz Hashim of Malaysia in the men’s singles final. There were flashes of his brilliance today but first gear was all that Taufik needed to capture his first title of 2009.

The 21-18, 21-19 score line would suggest a close game but the Indonesian master never allowed Hafiz any whiff of a possibility. The Malaysian was unable to build on a 14-7 lead in the first game. A playing style that saw him matching Taufik at the net was not sufficient to compensate for his inability to come up with answers against Taufik’s brilliant outright winners.

A quick exchange of points at the start of the second left Taufik trailing 2-4 but that was all the impetus Taufik needed. 10-11 was the point score at the towel-down and both players traded some delightful strokes as Hafiz displayed when he came up with a backhand smash of a similar quality of Taufik’s much to the delight of the small Malaysian fan gathering, but it was clearly evident that Taufik was the player in charge. Stringing together a series of 4 points he leapt to a 19-17 lead from which Hafiz could never recover.

“I’m surprised by the support I got in this tournament and thank you to all the fans. I had a great time at the tournament,” commented Taufik, thereby winning himself a very special place among the Hyderabadis.

Pi Hongyan’s brilliance in making the requisite tactical changes at the right moment was critical in quelling the challenge of a spirited Julia Wong as she claimed her first major title win since the 2006 Singapore Open.

The Chinese-born French girl had to overcome frustration as she was unable to come to grips with the drift and kept serving long and hitting her lifts way past the baseline in an error-ridden first game. Taking advantage of an unsettled Pi, the Malaysian girl opened a 3-point margin from 15 all to 18-15 eventually winning the game 21-17.

Realizing that her rally style of play was not best suited to the court conditions, Pi made the critical shift in tactics and steamrolled to an 8-5 lead crafting 5 points in a row only to be chased back by Julia as they went into the mid game break with Pi trailing 10-11. Keeping the shuttle down and attacking into Julia’s body was the masterstroke the French star employed as she strung together another series of 5 straight points to claw back to a 16-12 lead and close the game 21-15 to level the match.

The setback of the second game did not seem to weigh heavily on Julia as she built a 7-4 advantage early in the third game. But it was Pi who had made the quick change necessary to adapt to the drift. Another series of 5 points for Pi saw her take control as she went up 13-9 and there was no looking back from then on. By the time Pi put together another 4 points in a row to go up 19-12, Julia had no chance of coming back. Pi claimed her Indian Open crown winning the third game 21-14.

“I realized there was a problem and told myself – it is you who has to find a solution,” Pi said later. That solution was the key to the title treasure chest for a very delighted Pi as she carried her signature happy smile all the way to the podium to collect her prize cheque.

The veteran duo of Choong Tan Fook / Lee Wan Wah quickly wiped away the disappointment of the Malaysian losses in the men’s and women’s singles finals in their “demolition derby” against the hapless Singaporean pair of Hendri Saputra / Hendra Wijaya.

It seemed like the Malaysians were hell-bent on breaking their record of the fastest finish to the first game (they had taken only 4 minutes in their 1st semi-final game against Wijaya/Riyadi) and were just prevented from doing so as Saputra/Wijaya stretched them to 6 minutes before Choong/Lee won 21-9.

Serve, Return and Attacking Smash Winner – was the formula used by the experienced Malaysians as they continued their destructive ways into the second half of the match. It was only a matter of time before the relentless attack of the wily veterans saw a meek surrender by the Singaporeans, who never looked like they’d got into the match.

17 minutes was all the time the former Asian Badminton champs needed to claim a title that seemed rightfully theirs from the outset, as they won the second game 21-11.

Hyderabad saw three repeat finalists from the last Grand Prix Gold event. In addition to Taufik and Julia, unseeded combination of Ma Jin / Wang Xiaoli came to the court looking for a golden title. The 2006 World Junior Champions took their first ever senior title, bringing the Chinese their only gold medal from this Indian outing. Faster court coverage and clean hitting from Wang Xiaoli gave the Chinese duo the upper hand right from the start.

Taking advantage of a jittery Vita Marissa, the Chinese duo directed their attack towards the more experienced of the Indonesian pair whose error-prone game was exploited.

Strings of points at key times characterized the entire match with Ma/Wang winning 5 on the trot in each game. The 21-14, 21-13 win ended in just under the half-hour mark and was testimony to the clinical finishing which has trademarked the Chinese performance throughout this tournament week.



The experienced pairing of Flandy Limpele and Vita Marissa made it a second Indonesian gold on finals day, capturing the mixed doubles title at their first tournament together since Beijing.

Putting pressure on Jwala Gutta’s heavy court movements and with the Indians forgetting that the weak link was Marissa and not Flandy, the Indonesians outplayed the home pair in the first game 21-14. Limpele/Marissa were put under pressure by the Indians in the second. The boisterous gathering helped the home pair to surge to a 17-13 lead.

But “the drift”, a major factor influencing matches in the venue, sent two drive returns from Diju sailing out. That was the only opening that the Indonesians needed to conjure up eight straight points and claim the XD title finishing off the match 21-17 in the second.

WILSON SWISS OPEN – Clark and Kellogg - Experience over Youth

In the morning session on day 1 of the Swiss Open Anthony Clark and Donna Kellogg sent out a stark reminder to the rest of the English squad that they mean business in Basel this week. The world number 4 pair took just 23 minutes to send their English understudies Adcock and White home with their tails between their legs.
By Mark Phelan. Photos: badmintonphoto.com ( Live in Basel)

The English number ones might feel they have something to prove this week in Switzerland after what must been seen as a poor week for English badminton at the All England’s last week in Birmingham.
In what was being billed as a ‘Battle of Britain’ in today first round turned out to be nothing more than ‘walk in the park’ for the experienced duo as they powered home to a 21-7 21-5 win. In the first set the English Veterans cruised to a virtually unchallenged victory and the second set was more or a warm down that a competitive game as, after the game was tied at 4-4, the younger English duo only managed one further point in the entire game.
World number 1 pairing Nova Widianto and Liliyana Natsir continued to struggle on European soil this spring as they took three sets to see of the Challenge of David Lindley and Suzanne Rayappan. The Indonesians will be hoping to bounce back this week after their early defeat in Birmingham last week.
Limpele and Russkikh had to bow out in the first round after their heroics in reaching the semi final of the All England’s last week. A disappointing 21-17 21-13 defeat to Malaysia’s Tazari and Wong will leave the new global pairing with much to ponder ahead of their summer’s Super Series trip to Asia.
Elsewhere in the mixed doubles first round Olympic champions got off to a shaky first set start with a 22-20 win over German duo Overzier and Schoettler. The Beijing gold medallists composed themselves and pull away in the second for a 21-8 win and a second round berth. There was delight for the home Swiss crowd as Agung and Tuwankotta left their higher ranked French opponents reeling with a three set win. The Swiss took the opener but Careme and Choinet hit back with a tight 27-25 win after the Swiss squandered match point at 25-24. The Swiss duo held their nerve in the final set and after falling behind 11-5 bounced back to stun their French opponents to take the set 21-18.
Blair and Bankier blew a 13-11 lead in the final set of their first round match and their challenge appeared to instantly dissolve as their Chinese Taipei opponents won the next 10 points to dump the number 6 seeds out at first round stage.

YONEX ALL ENGLAND – Wang victorious in Chinese Clean Sweep

Wang Yihan, the 22 year old Chinese world number 8 claimed her maiden All England title at only her second attempt after beating defending champion Tine Rasmussen in three sets 21-19 21-23 21-11. China completed an historic clean sweep as Cai and Fu delivered a fifth gold medal and leaves the world in no doubt that the Asian nation continue to be the benchmark in professional badminton

By Mark Phelan (Live) photo: badmintonphoto.com (Live in Birmingham)

It was China’s day on day 6 of the All England Championships as they swept to an unprecedented clean sweep of all five titles at the most prestigious of all individual tournaments. After taking the mixed doubles, men’s singles and women’s doubles early in the final session, with a mixture of youth and experience lifted the women’s singles and men’s doubles to finish the All England whitewash.

Wang Yihan one of the more emotionally expressive Chinese players on court, defeated Tine Rasmussen in three sets as Rasmussen ran out of steam in the final set and had no answers to the Chinese onslaught.

In the first Rasmussen settled quickest and established an early lead at 9-5 but Wang Yihan stormed back to level at the mid game interval. It was then the Chinese players turn to take the advantage as she led 14-11 but just as Wang Yihan had done earlier in the set Tine bounced back to level 19-19. An unforced error from The Dane down the tramline handed the opening set to Wang Yihan and Rasmussen was once again faced with the unenviable task of making a comeback if she was to retain her title.

The second set was a game of ‘cat and mouse’ as both players returned shuttles that appeared to be clear winners to any mere mortal watching on. During the set there was never more than three points between the players as they fought out an intense battle of long energy sapping rallies throughout. Wang Yihan had match point at 21-10 but a chance of tactic from Rasmussen was to bare fruit as she appeared to purpously shorten the rallies and attacked at every opportunity not allowing her Chinese opponent time to set up a winner. Rasmussen won three straight points to take the set to the delight of the NIA crowd and force the game into a deciding rubber.

In the third it was clear that exploits of Rasmussen’s comeback in her semi final and the intensity of the previous set was taking its toll as she struggled to match the pace of her younger opponent. Wang Yihan took an instant lead that Rasmussen would never recover from and the Chinese youngster ran out a comfortable 21-11 winner in the third to claim the All England title.

The young Chinese player immediately went to celebrate with her coach and current Olympic Champion Zhang Ning and was obviously overcome with joy at her All England win. “That’s how I am. I express myself on court as I am a rather joyful person. I had beaten her twice before but this time feels especially good as it’s only my second time playing here and I had lost to my compatriot Lu Lan then. I believe that I’ve played some of my best badminton this week and I’m thrilled,”

Tine however was visibly frustrated“I wasn’t even sure of making the semi-finals coming here and I was actually very close to losing at that stage so I shouldn’t complain. Of course I am disappointed but I took my chances and I believe we played well. I won my points but I also made to many errors and she scored on those errors. I was very tired today and it showed it think in some of the errors I made.” said Tine, who confirmed she would skip the Wilson Swiss Open to rest and prepare for the Sudirman Cup.

In the final game on court there was further joy for China as their experienced men’s doubles pair of Cai and Fu completed the clean sweep for China as they comfortably beat newly created Korean pair Han Sang Hoon and Hwang Ji Man in two straight sets 21-17 21-15.
After the game head coach Li Yongbo accompanied his experienced war horses to the press conference and was obviously all smiles as he spoke about his countries clean sweep of all five titles.

“We didn’t think of getting all medals and I wanted my shuttlers to focus on their own games and not worry about their compatriots nor the fact that we could make the clean sweep. This clean sweep was never in my mind however, I am very proud of my players today. It is a team spirit that won here,” said Li Yongbo

YONEX ALL ENGLAND – Lin Dan Claims 4th All England Title

Lin Dan today claimed his fourth All England in impressive fashion as he reaffirmed his position as the greatest men’s singles player on the planet in beating world number 1 Lee Chong Wei in a repeat of the 2008 Beijing Olympic final.

By Mark Phelan (Live) Photos: Badmintonphoto.com (Live in Birmingham)

The crowd went wild as both Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei entered the stadium this afternoon in Birmingham, England. There was not a vacant seat in the house as all assembled were transfixed as they eagerly awaited the repeat of the Olympic final from Beijing last August. The boisterous fans were not to be disappointed as both players dished out a master class in professional badminton in what was a perfect advertisement for the sport in general.

The first set was a very competitive affair as it was clear from the off that both players were up for the challenge. Early on it was the Chinese Olympic Champion that set the pace as he eased into a 8-2 lead aided by amazing net play and pin point smashing. Lee Chong Wei fought back to the delight of the vast hoards of Malaysian fans in the arena and at the mid game interval only trailed by 2 points. Both players continued to amaze the crowd with rallies of exquisite badminton but it was Lin Dan who had the upper hand and at 16-12 looked to have the set in the bag.

Lee Chong Wei then hit the Olympic Champion with a counter punch and won 3 points to close to within 1 and after Lin Dan stopped the rot with a smash down the line, Lee Chong Wei once again pressed the accelerator to win 4 unanswered points to take the lead in the first set for the first time 19-17.

As if not to be outdone, it was now Lin Dan’s time to counter and from a seemingly hopeless position he went to win four straight points to clinch the opener 21-19 to the rapturous applause of the appreciative Birmingham crowd. It was clear to all assembled that winning here was vitally important to Lin Dan as he clinched his fist after winning the opening set.

“In the first set there were a few occasions where I let him (Lee Chong Wei) back into the set but I stayed calm and worked to my plan. It was a close game and it could have gone either way but I managed to stay focused and win,” commented Lin Dan on his opening set win.

In the second set, the Malaysian started off in positive form, and with a little help from a few unforced net errors by Lin Dan, eked out a slender 6-5 lead. Lin Dan then won the next four points to take a 9-6 advantage and had Lee Chong Wei hanging onto his coat tails at 14-12 where the destiny of the match still hung in the balance. It was at this point that the Olympic Champion proved to everyone assembled why he is the best in the world and went on a point-winning spree to take 7 points in a row to claim yet another All England title. As the match point shuttle dropped aimlessly over the end line, from a Lee Chong Wei lift, the Chinese star clenched his fists with joy and saluted the packed arena.

“I think we both played very well today and really the winner today was the game of badminton. I think we gave the spectators what they wanted and Lee Chong Wei was as much a part of that as I was. I have won everything there is to win in badminton now but I still have motivation to be the best ambassador for the sport I can. Without doubt this is a huge motivation for me,” said Lin Dan after his historic win.

In the first match on court the Chinese number 3 seeds He Hanbin and Yu Yang stumbled in losing the opening set to brand-new Korean pair Ko Sung Hyun and Ha Jung Eun. The Chinese pair hit back in the second to level the match at one set each and in the third just cruised away from the Koreans to take the 3rd 21-9 and with it the title of All England Champions 2009.

“The first game we were not good today but we corrected our approach for the second and managed to get ourselves back into the match at 1 set each. In the third we played very well and played to our strengths and we are obviously delighted to win the All England title. This is a great boast in confidence for us as we are only a new pair and we look forward now to going on and improving more and winning many more tournaments,” said He Hanbin after the Chinese mixed doubles win.

China claimed its third title on finals day as number 7 seeds Zhang Yawen and Zhao Tingting beat compatriots Cheng/Zhao in two sets 21-13, 21-15.

YONEX ALL ENGLAND – Taufik Avenges French Final Defeat

Taufik Hidayat beat Peter Gade today in two sets to avenge his defeat in the French Super Series final last Novemeber and did it on the 10th Anniversary of the their famous 1999 final where Gade won his one and only All England title.

By Mark Phelan (Live) Photos: badmintonphoto.com (Live in Birmingham)


Taufik Hidayat today booked his All England semi final berth as he controlled his way to a two set win over Peter Gade and takes one step closer to realising his dream of winning the All England, the one major tournament that has eluded him.
Both players started the match cautiously and their mutual respect was evident as they each tried to find a way to break the others resolve. The control of first set drifted back and forth between the two giants of world badminton and it was Taufik who made the decisive move as while Gade held a slender lead of a single point at 16-15. With some delicate lifts and drops the Indonesian moved Gade around the court and won 4 points without reply to take a 19-16 lead. Taufik continued to drive home is end of set dominance and secured the final two points to take the opening set 21-17 and leave Gade with an uphill battle if he was to take as step in securing his second All England title.
In the second set the tide continued to swap both sides of the net in much the same way as the first. The game was clearly a tactical battle between two amazing exponents of the game as long rallies were the order of that day as both attempted to find an opening to smash home a winner. Gade led at 14-12 and appeared to have found his tactical feet but Taufik then stepped up a gear and won five points to leave Gade battling just to survive. The Indonesian maintained his advantage for the remainder of the set and took the set 21-18 to advance to tomorrow’s semi final where he will now play world number 1 Lee Choong Wei.

“It is hard to believe that that it is 10 years since I played Peter here in the final on this very court. Things are much different now we are different players and both of us are a lot older. Today was a tactical game, not much power but a lot of head play. I’m more motivated now and the power to win comes from inside. Tomorrow will be a different game but I’m fitter now and my form is better.” Said a delighted Taufik after his quarter final victory.

In the women’s singles Nanna Brosolat Jensen continued her fairy tale All England journey as she displayed a new found maturity to defeat yet another higher ranked player in Julia Pei Xian Wong of Malaysia. The qualifier from Denmark has blossomed in this tournament and was tactically aware on court today to leave her opponent with no answers as she ran out a rather comfortably 21-16 21-16 winner.

“I knew I had a chance today as I have been playing well. I believe more now that I can win but like yesterday I tried not to put to much pressure on myself. I tried my best to stay calm and im aware that I have now played 5 matches since Tuesday. I actually feel fine physically but mentally I’m beginning to feel the strain.” Said Brosolat after her win

In the men’s doubles Cai and Fu from China sent out clear warning signals to all their competitors in beating 2003 World Champions Passke and Rasmussen from Denmark. The Danes, who have been together since 2001, had few answers to the power of the Chinese and were always playing catch up as the Chinese revelled in their new found enthusiasm after their post Olympic break. In the first the Chinese powered their way to a 21-17 win and they followed that up with a thoroughly convincing 21-16 win in the second. On the evidence of this display it would be a fool that would dare bet against the Chinese from adding another All England to the title they last won in 2005.

“We have been together for 7 years so we don’t need much practise to get back to our best. Right now I think we are at about 80% of our best. This is a really good venue and we feel relaxed here as we have been coming here for many years. The break did us good and we are back now together and are very enthusiastic.
I don’t think the Danes played especially well today as they made a lot of errors but the standard here in the men’s doubles is very high so the tournament does not suffer at all with the loss of Kido and Setiawan.” Said a confident Cai (photo right) after there comfortable win over the Danes.

Elsewhere English dreams and aspirations were ended rather prematurely as both Wallwork/White and Clark/Kellogg exited the All England stage on TV day number 1. Chen Jin was made work hard for a quarter final victory as he was stretched to three sets against Sho Sasaki from the Japan. It took a match point net foul from the Japanese shuttler to see the reigning champion over the line and he will count himself fortunate to be lining out in tomorrows semi final.

YONEX ALL ENGLAND – Zhou Mi out but hardly an upset!!

World number 2 and number 2 seed Zhou Mi had to succumb to the talents of Chinese shuttler and recent German Open winner Wang Yihan in what, on paper, appears an upset but in reality is just another day at the office for the Chinese wonder kid.

By Mark Phelan (Live) Photos: badmintonphoto.com (Live in Birmingham)

In day of a few surprises in the women’s singles it was Wang Yihan’s turn to dump a seed out of the tournament. The Chinese shuttler dented Zhou Mi’s aspirations of All England glory in the longest game of the day which extended to 6 minutes over an hour in a titanic three set battle.
Wang Yihan took the opening set after both players struggled to find any consistent rhythm as they shared the lead back and forth to level at 19-19. Just when it looked like the set might extend beyond 21 the world number 17 found the inspiration to take the next two points to deal the first blow in this badminton marathon.
In the second set the momentum once again ebbed back and forth but this time at 18-18 it was Zhou Mi who found the touch to take the three points she needed to level that match up at one set a piece.
In the third the world number 2 took a seemingly unassailable lead at 13-5 and looked to be heading to the quarter final but Yihan found the resolve and determination to fight back and level the match at 18-18 and even went on to lead at 19-18. Both players were level again at 21-21 and with match point to Yihan at 22-21 Zhou Mi drove into the net to give the Chinese shuttler the win and in doing so put the 4th Chinese shuttler into tomorrow’s quarter final.


In the mixed doubles it was a bad day for Denmark as all three of their remaining pairs were shown the door at the second round stage. Earlier in the day the combinations of Bonde/Neilsen and Delbo Larsen/Schjoett Kristensen fell at the hands of Asian opponents and late in to the evenings play world number 5 pair of Thomas Laybourn and Kamilla Rytter Juhl were beaten in three sets 16-21 21-12 21-18 by Chinese pair Zheng Bo and Ma Jin.

Cai and Fu continued to impress on their return as a pair with a 25 minute win in 2 sets over Korean pair Kwon and Yoo while number 2 seeds from Denmark Rasmussen and Passke were clearly refreshed after been rested for the European Team Championships two weeks ago as they took only half an hour to defeat Ikeda and Sakamoto from Japan.

As the evening drew to a close Denmark’s men’s and women’s singles players continued to fly the flag for the European powerhouse as Peter Gade and Tine Rasmussen followed Persson and Brosolat Jensen in making it through to tomorrows quarter final. Boe and Mogensen continued that winning trend for Denmark with a convincing win over Fuchs and Kindervarter from Germany 21-18 21-11.

In the battle of Britain in the mixed doubles it was a case of experience emerging victorious over youth. Number 4 seeds Anthony Clark and Donna Kellogg in their first appearance at this years All England’s were composed is ending the dream of Gabby White and Chris Adcock 21-14 21-16.