BWF WORLD SUPER SERIES - DENMARK OPEN 2009: Zwiebler knocks out Wong, Guru on a roll
News 11:52 AM
Mark Zwiebler provided the Denmark Open with its first big upset when he stunned Wong Choong Hann of
It was a smooth day for most seeded players. But not for Choong Hann, who, in spite of his status as No 4 seed, was shown the exit very early on by the inspired German.
Zwiebler played some great badminton to beat the Malaysian veteran, who, on his end, played below his regular level – “the skills were there, but not the stamina” he later explained.
Winning the first game 21/18, Zwiebler was very early into the game, even leading 11/6 in the second game before Wong started placing some sharp attacks down on the ground. The latter scooped the second game, forcing a decider. But the German had given already too much energy to just let go. And he led through out the last game from start to finish, eventually winning 21/12.
“This feels great as it was quite unexpected. I have been playing quite poorly in the last events I participated in, where I should have been able to beat all players involved there as I had in the past.,” said Zwiebler.
“At the Bitburger Open, I didn’t feel good and had to have some tests done at the Hospital. Doctors suspected that I had some kind of virus that I caught in
“He (Choong Hann) used to come and practice with me when he was playing in the German league, so I know his game well. He used to give me tips and I hope he’ll advise me for my next match,” laughed the German. It is not likely, as Zwiebler is set to meet Choong Hann’s compatriot Hafiz Hashim in the next round – the tall Malaysian shuttler beat
Denmark’s top three shuttlers entered the second round in straight games, but for Jan Jorgensen , his match against Hans Kristian Vitthingus meant more than just trying to make it through any Super Series first round : it was all about showing that he was definitely one following Gade’s steps.
He proved his point even if Vitthingus was very close to winning the second game, losing only 21/23 after bowing 8/21 in the first one. “Everyone was talking about this specific match between Hans Kristian and I, which put a bit of pressure on both of us, but I felt like I had the edge mentally over him in the last few points and I was confident I could win,” explained Jorgensen.
Gade spent little time on one of the court where live streaming was broadcasted and beat
“I haven’t been playing so well lately, so I was a little nervous. But the crowd helped me and it felt nice to have the home support when things don’t go well. I’m happy I could pull this win and I will now take on a young Indian that I have never seen, but if he beat Wacha, he must be playing some pretty decent badminton,” said Persson after his 21/18, 21/19 win.
Pretty decent indeed as R.M.V Gurusaidutt performed very well to upset Przemyslav Wacha of
In the women’s singles, Eriko Hirose created the biggest upset of the day when she beat No 5 seed Juliane Schenk of
Saina Nehwal, also, had to sweat her way through a tricky first round against
If some of Danish pairs lost to higher ranked opponents in the men’s doubles – including promising youngsters Mads Conrad Petersen and Mads Pieler Kolding who were close to beat
Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen and the other duo of Lars Paaske and Jonas Rasmussen made light work of their opponents but the surprise came from the newer pairs of Kesper Henriksen and Anders Kristiansen on one end, and Simon Mollyhus and Rasmus Bonde on the other end. The latter beat No 5 seed Alvent Yulianto Chandra and Hendra Gunawan convincingly.
Most of the seeded pairs in the women’s doubles had a bye in the first round, but Helle Nielsen and Marie Ropke didn’t and probably wish they had – the 8th seeds bowed to new pair of Anastasia Russkikh (
Posted by Lucas Liau
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