Yonex French Open 2014

Yonex French Open 2014 – Day 3: Zhang Powers into Quarter-finals

Friday, October 24, 2014 - Text by Dev Sukumar | Badmintonphoto

Beiwen Zhang’s impressive season continued into the Yonex French Open 2014 as she made the Women’s Singles quarter-finals yesterday.

The American, winner of four tournaments this year (Peru International, US Open, Brasil Grand Prix and Dutch Open), destroyed the challenge of Thailand’s Porntip Buranaprasertsuk in just 30 minutes in the second round. Buranaprasertsuk, who had earlier beaten India’s PV Sindhu, had no answers to Zhang as she went down 21-16 21-9.

Having taken eventual winner Li Xuerui (China) to three games at the Denmark Open last week, Zhang will be treated with caution by quarter-final opponent Wang Yihan, who had no problems in disposing off compatriot Liu Xin (21-13 21-13).

Meanwhile, another Chinese, Wang Shixian, set up her 10th meeting with long-time rival Saina Nehwal (India) after a three-game result over Japan’s Sayaka Takahashi. Nehwal, who leads their head-to-head 5-4, eased past Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmour 21-19 21-16. In the other quarter-finals, top seed Li will take on Ireland’s Chloe Magee (19-21 22-20 21-8 winner over Switzerland’s Sabrina Jaquet), while Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon faces Japanese qualifier Akane Yamaguchi. Magee (above) pulled off a near-miraculous win over Jaquet. Trailing by a game and with deficits of 8-14, 12-17 and three match points down at 17-20, Magee still found the mental reserves to hang in and eventually turn it around: 19-21 22-20 21-8.

Chinese Women’s Doubles top seeds Bao Yixin/Tang Jinhua, who were near-perfect during a dream spell late last year and early this year, crashed out early yet again, this time to Japan’s Shizuka Matsuo/Mami Naito (left). The Japanese maintained their composure despite facing three consecutive match points and edged through 16-21 21-7 23-21. Matsuo/Naito face compatriots Miyuki Maeda/Reika Kakiiwa. Another Japanese pair, Ayaka Takahashi/Misaki Matsutomo take on No.5 seeds Ma Jin/Tang Yuanting (China).

Two Danes made the Men’s Singles quarter-finals. No.6 seed Hans-Kristian Vittinghus(below) overcame a tough challenge from India’s K Srikanth in the first game before cruising through 22-20 21-14, while Viktor Axelsen had it easier against Japan’s Takuma Ueda, 21-11 21-10. Vittinghus faces No.4 seed Tommy Sugiarto (Indonesia), who was pushed to three games by Chinese qualifier Chen Yuekun: 15-21 21-16 21-15.

Kashyap Parupalli prevailed in a tight match against China’s Tian Houwei (21-19 21-18). Next up for the Indian is another Chinese, Wang Zhengming, who held off a late comeback from Germany’s Marc Zwiebler, 21-19 14-21 21-19, in 67 minutes. Japan’s Kento Momota also won a three-game match, over Hong Kong’s Hu Yun, and will play Thai Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk next.

Men’s Doubles: Danes Mathias Boe/Carsten Mogensen reversed their recent record (two losses) against Russians Vladimir Ivanov/Ivan Sozonov and booked their quarter-final place against China’s Hong Wei/Chai Biao. Malaysia’s Goh V Shem/Tan Wee Kiong were nearly sent crashing out by Jacco Arends/Jelle Maas (Netherlands) and had to scramble back from match point down to make the quarter-finals: 22-20 8-21 22-20.

Mixed Doubles: Jacco Arends however stayed in contention in Mixed Doubles, ensuring a quarter-final place with Selena Piek (below) after upsetting No.6 seeds Sudket Prapakamol/Saralee Thoungthongkam (Thailand) 21-16 17-21 21-15. China’s Lu Kai/Huang Yaqiong also won a three-game battle, over Russian-Indian pair Vladimir Ivanov/Ashwini Ponnappa, 21-8 18-21 21-9.

onex French Open 2014 – Day 2: Early Exit for Last Year’s Finalists

Thursday, October 23, 2014 - Text by Dev Sukumar | Badmintonphoto

Two of the biggest names in the Men’s Singles draw tumbled out in the opening round of the Yonex French Open 2014 yesterday.

Last year’s finalists Kenichi Tago (Japan) and Jan O Jorgensen (Denmark) both crashed out – Tago was dismissed in straight games by India’s Kashyap Parupalli (21-11 21-18) before Jorgensen lost a long battle with fast-improving Chinese Taipei player Chou Tien Chen. Chou proved a doughty opponent as he recovered from deficits of 11-16 and 17-19 to extend the first game. Although Jorgensen saved three game points, Chou finally converted the fourth to take the lead.

With the Dane storming back in the second game, the decider was expected to be a thriller, but Chou (above) ran away to a 6-0 lead and never looked back, taking the match 25-23 9-21 21-15.

The closest Men’s Singles encounter was between Japan’s Kento Momota and India’s HS Prannoy. Momota had handy leads of 18-13 and three match points at 20-17, but Prannoy refused to buckle and made it 20-all. The Japanese left-hander however scrambled home just in time, ensuring a second-round place with a 21-11 15-21 22-20 result. Momota will face Hong Kong’s Hu Yun, who also survived a three-game battle against Ireland’s Scott Evans, 21-18 20-22 21-15.

Former finalist Viktor Axelsen and fellow-Dane Hans-Kristian Vittinghus progressed with straight-game wins, as did Germany’s Marc Zweibler and China’s Wang Zhengming and Tian Houwei.

A much-anticipated Women’s Singles clash did not materialise as Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu Ying handed a walkover to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi. There was plenty of nail-biting action in the category, however. One big casualty was India’s PV Sindhu, at the hands of Thailand’s Porntip Buranaprasertsuk: 12-21 21-18 21-16.

Japan’s Minatsu Mitani was nearly upstaged by Commonwealth Games champion Michelle Li (Canada). Mitani led 19-15 in the decider but soon stared at defeat as Li held match point. The Japanese fought back to force a 11-21 21-17 22-20 victory. Her nemesis Li Xuerui (China, 1) awaits her in the second round.

Swiss qualifier Sabrina Jaquet (BWF home page) also pulled off a somewhat identical victory over Indonesia’s Adrianti Firdasari. Jaquet saw Firdasari climb back from 16-19 down to hold match point, but was able to win the last three points and record a 21-18 18-21 22-20 victory.

Apart from Li, three other Chinese made the second round: Wang Shixian (2), Wang Yihan (3) and Liu Xin.

Men’s Doubles: China’s Zhang Nan/Fu Haifeng, who won the Denmark Open on Sunday, were ambushed in the first round by Malaysia’s Goh V Shem/Tan Wee Kiong. The Malaysian qualifiers edged through 21-19 9-21 21-19. Defending champions Markis Kido/Gideon Markus Fernaldi had it surprisingly tough against Philippine qualifiers Philip Joper Escueta/Ronel Estanislao but prevailed 21-17 16-21 21-16. Indian pair Pranaav Chopra/Akshay Dewalkar (above) scored a creditable 23-21 17-21 21-16 win over China’s Li Junhui/Liu Yuchen.

Women’s Doubles: There were no surprises in Women’s Doubles with all the seeded pairs getting into the second round comfortably. No.5 seeds Ma Jin/Tang Yuanting(above) however were kept on court longer than they might have anticipated by Indonesia’s Pia Zebadiah Bernadeth/Rizki Amelia Pradipta during a 21-6 9-21 21-18 victory.

Mixed Doubles: Germany’s Michael Fuchs/Birgit Michels (below) recovered from a mid-match setback to beat Thailand’s Maneepong Jongjit/Sapsiree Taerattanachai, 21-15 19-21 21-17. Singapore’s Danny Bawa Chrisnanta/Vanessa Neo too were involved in a three-game thriller against another Thai pair, Nipitphon Puangpuapech/Puttita Supajirakul , 14-21 21-18 21-19.

Yonex French Open 2014 – Day 1: Opportunity for Youngsters to Shine

Wednesday, October 22, 2014 - Text by Dev Sukumar | Badmintonphoto

Two prodigies will clash in the Women’s Singles first round of the Yonex French Open 2014, an event with unpredictable draws in some categories.

Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi breezed through two qualifying rounds to set up an opening round clash against Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu Ying – the player she beat on the way to a historic Japan Open triumph last year. Tai avenged the loss at the Australian Open in June this year, and the stage is set for an intriguing contest.

The amazing Li Xuerui – who has reached the final of every tournament she has played this year – heads the seedings, followed by Chinese compatriot Wang Shixian. Other big names in the draw are Wang Yihan (China, 3), Saina Nehwal (India, 5), Ratchanok Intanon (Thailand, 4) and PV Sindhu (India, 8). Intanon in particular will hope to reverse the lack of form she has suffered this year. If she doesn’t fall to a lower seed, she is slated to run into Li in the semi-finals.

The Women’s Singles qualifiers alongside Yamaguchi were France's Delphine Lansac (above), Vu Thi Trang (Vietnam) and Sabrina Jaquet (Switzerland). Lansac survived a tough test in the second qualifying round against Bulgaria’s Stefani Stoeva, 12-21 21-16 21-16, and will face Intanon in the first round.

In contrast to Women’s Singles, the Men’s Singles draw appears more open. With the big three names – Lin Dan, Chen Long (China) and Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia) – skipping the event, the title is up for grabs among a number of contenders. Third seed Kenichi Tago (Japan) will hope to break his Superseries jinx, but he has a tough first round against India’s Kashyap Parupalli, who too will fancy his chances of going all the way.

Second seed Jan O Jorgensen (Denmark), winner here in 2013, also has a difficult opener against Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen, while compatriot Viktor Axelsen, a past finalist, takes on Hong Kong’s Wong Wing Ki. Other contenders include Indonesia’s Tommy Sugiarto, China’s Wang Zhengming, Tian Houwei and Hong Kong’s Hu Yun. India’s HS Prannoy, winner of the Indonesian Masters last month, runs into Japan’s Kento Momota in the opening round – a match that features two potential champions of the future.

Two Chinese – Song Xue and Chen Yuekun (above) – qualified along with Ng Ka Long (Hong Kong) and Dmytro Zavadsky (Ukraine). Chen was taken to three games by Russia’s Vladimir Malkov in the second qualifying round (21-11 13-21 21-13). Zavadsky(BWF home page) had a long day at the office – he beat Indonesia’s Andrew Kurniawan Tedjono 17-21 23-21 21-10 before overcoming Estonia’s Raul Must 21-13 10-21 21-7.

Men’s Doubles: Two pairs from Philippines qualified: Philip Joper Escueta/Ronel Estanislao (above) and Peter Gabriel Magnaye/Paul Jefferson Vivas. Malaysia’s Goh V Shem/Tan Wee Kiong ran into unexpected trouble from Germany’s Raphael Beck/Andreas Heinz before pulling through: 21-23 21-16 21-13. Chinese Taipei’s Chen Hung Ling/Wang Chi-Lin also made the main draw, beating Indonesia’s Alvent Yulianto Chandra/Yonathan Suryatama Dasuki 21-18 21-15.

Women’s Doubles: With four strong Chinese pairs -- Bao Yixin/Tang Jinhua (1), Ma Jin/Tang Yuanting (5), Yu Yang/Wang Xiaoli (7) and Luo Ying/Luo Yu -- in the draw, it will require an upset of titanic proportions if any other was to end up with the title.

Mixed Doubles: The Russian-Indian combination of Vladimiv Ivanov/Ashwini Ponnappa(above) received a walkover into the main draw. The other qualifiers were: Sebastien Vincent/Andrea Vanderstukken (France), Keigo Sonoda/Shizuka Matsuo (Japan) and Bastian Kersaudy/Lea Palermo (France).