General

Ivanov/Sozonov first Russians ever to win All-England
Date: 3/13/2016 2:24 PM
Published by : Manuel Røsler
The Russians pulled off an incredible 21-23, 21-18, 21-16 win over the world No7 to secure their first Superseries title.

It may not have been a sensation in the same league as Carolina Marin’s gold medal at the 2014 World Championships in Copenhagen but what happened at the Yonex All-England Open on Sunday perhaps wasn't far off.

Russia’s Vladimir Ivanov/Ivan Sozonov, current world number 13, stunned Hiroyuki Endo/Kenichi Hayakawa  of Japan in a three-game encounter to open their Superseries account and take the title of one of the most prestigious individual tournaments in the world. The unseeded European Champion’s 21-23, 21-18, 21-16 improbable victory made them the first Russians ever to win an All-England title.

An emotional Ivan Sozonov said afterwards: “This is the biggest tournament in the world. And we just won it by beating one of the best men’s doubles pairs in the world. It’s absolutely amazing.”



“We have lost five times in the first round here… There is a joke in Russia that if we win one match we will win the tournament. This is a miracle,” declared Ivanov speaking to the BWF.

“This is our first Superseries final and to win at the best tournament in the world makes us very proud and so excited. This is a new page for Russia and a wonderful new experience for us which we hope will come again,” said Sozonov.

Fischer/Pedersen finished runner-up

Denmark’s Joachim Fischer/Christinna Pedersen, the current European Champion in the mixed doubles category, lost their first All-England final appearance to the eighth seeded Indonesian pair Parveen Jordan and Debby Susanto in two games 12-21, 17-21.

"It was great to have reached the finals here. But the way I played today was not great", said Christinna Pedersen in an interview with the Danish media. 

"The first game was really bad from my side. I was too slow and I did too many mistakes. In the end we met a pair which was just better today."



Lin Dan earned his sixth All England men’s singles title when he eased past Chinese teammate Tian Houwei 21-9, 21-10 in just 40 minutes in the final on Sunday.

Nozomi Okuhara of Japan marked her 21st birthday with her first All-England title after beating two-time champion Wang Shixian of China 21-11, 16-21, 21-19 in a thrilling final which lasted 99 minutes.

The Finals results:

MS: Lin Dan (CHN) - Tian Houwei (CHN) 21:9, 21:10
WS: Nozomi Okuhara (JPN) - Wang Shixian (CHN) 21:11,16:21, 21:19
MD: Vladimir Ivanov/Ivan Sozonov (RUS) - Hiroyuki Endo/Kenichi Hayakawa (JPN) 21:23, 21:18, 21:16
WD: Misaki Matsutomo/Ayaka Takahashi (JPN) - Tang Yuanting/Yu Yang (CHN) 21:10, 21:12
XD: Praveen Jordan/Debby Susanto (INA) - Joachim Fischer/Christinna Pedersen (DEN) 21:12, 21:17

For more information, visit the official tournament website at http://www.allenglandbadminton.com

Article by Manuel Rösler. Photos by BadmintonPhoto.

©badmintoneurope.com. All rights reserved.

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