Both Danish teams have qualified for the Thomas and Uber Cup last 8 stage.The Thomas Cup team topped their group by beating Taiwan today (3-2), while the Danish Uber Cup team finished second in group A after losing 0-5 to heavy favourite China.
European Champion and world number four, Viktor Axelsen defeated Tien Chen Chou in straight games (21-13, 21-13) to clinch the first point for Denmark.
Mads Conrad and Mads Kolding beat Taiwan's Lee Sheng Mu/Tsai Chia Hsin - who are number 18 on the world rankings – 22-20, 21-9 in the 1st doubles to put the Danes in a 2-0 lead.
Jen Hao Hsu then brought Taiwan back into the game with his three-game victory over Jan Ø. Jørgensen, the world number 5.
It was Mathias Boe and Mathias Christiansen who sealed the victory for the North-Europeans with their 21-17, 19-21, 21-17 victory in the 2nd doubles.
In the last match of the day, Hans-Kristian Vittinghus lost a dramatic match against Wang Tzu Wei as the Dane lost 23-25 in the rubber-game.
Denmark, who finished runner-upat this prestigious event nine times since 1949, will face titleholder Japan in tomorrow's quarter-finals.
„We are ready for the quarter-finals here in Kunshan after a 3-2 win against Taiwan today. It was a great team performance! I'm happy that I managed to get us off to a good start, by winning my match against Chou Tien Chen in straight games“, wrote Denmark star ViktorAxelsen via Facebook.
„Not everyone played their best today, but we all gave 100% of what we had to give today - both on and off court. That's the way we want to go forward as a team!“, said Hans-Kristian Vittinghus.
„Personally it's clear I should be able to play much better than what I did today. I made way too many errors, but I'm confident I can do better if I'm needed in the quarter-final tomorrow.“
Danish girls lost to China – but are through to the quarter-finals
The Danish Uber cup team lost their final match in group A to China but they were already qualified for the last 8 stage after their victories over Malaysia (3-2) and Spain (4-1). Also Team France could celebrate a victory as their Thomas Cup team beat Mexico 5-0. The German women beat Australia 4-1 to finish third in group D.
England beat Germany in an-all European affair on Tuesday
England men ended their Thomas Cup Finals campaign with an authoritative win over Germany on Tuesday.
After defeats to Malaysia and Korea which ended their bid to qualify for the knock-out phase of the world team championship, England ran out 4-1 winners over their European rivals. Rajiv Ouseph produced a comfortable 34-minute performance in beating Kai Schaefer 21-14,21-9.
In the opening men's doubles, Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge overcame Fabian Holzer and Johannes Pistorius 21-10, 21-6. The straight-game theme continued as Toby Penty scored a 21-11, 21-5 victory over Lars Schaenzler.
With the tie effectively won, Peter Briggs and Tom Wolfenden lost out to Mark Lamsfuss and Josche Zurwonne 18-21, 15-21. But Alex Lane ended England's group phase on a high note thanks to a 21-18, 21-6 win against David Peng.
The quarter-finals:
Thomas Cup:
Denmark vs Japan
Malaysia vs Taiwan
Indonesia vs Hong Kong
China vs Korea
Uber Cup:
Thailand vs India
Denmark vs Japan
Indonesia vs Korea
China vs Taiwan
Click here for all results.
Article by Manuel Rösler. Photo by BadmintonPhoto (LIVE).