From the moment the draw was made the match up in Group B between Joachim Fischer Nielsen/Christinna Pedersen and Robert Mateusiak/Nadiezda Zieba had the potential to be a classic. Both pairs are genuine medal contenders at these games and judging by their performance today it will be no surprise if both meet each other again later in the tournament.

The Poles have come into these Olympic Games as European Champions, the title that they won in Sweden only a few months back. Matuesiak and Zieba had a torrid qualification process but intend using that to their advantage rather than as a disadvantage. “We had a long time out with injury and the qualification process was tough for us but we are now very fresh and hungry for success”

In today’s match the both pairs traded opening sets. This was of course no surprise and both pairs play each other regularly in the Danish league so are very familiar with each other’s strengths and very few weaknesses.
The match kicked up a gear in the third and deciding game and Fischer looked particularly impressive as he controlled the match from the rear court which frustrated the Poles.

“We may have made a mistake today focusing a lot on Fischer. We needed to change this when we were struggling but they made it hard for us” commented Matusiak.

The Danes took the match with a 21-17 win in the third game and in doing so set the benchmark for all the medal contenders in this Olympic Games. “It was an exciting match and it probably took us longer than expected to get into the game. We certainly found a good rhythm in the third game and the crowd were just amazing and we fed off their energy” commented Fischer. “This was a good win and gives us a good indication of our form and how we have progressed. Training has been going very well and it is looking good for Europe to get two pairs out of this group” said Pedersen. 

Thomas Laybourn and Kamilla Rytter Juhl followed shortly with another Danish success with a well earned victory over Lee Yong Dae and Jung Eun Ha. The Koreans actually looked less than interested knowing that their fate was already sealed after defeat to Ahmad and Natsir in an earlier group match. Maybe Lee Yong Dae was on self preservation mode and saving himself for his men’s doubles.

Anu Nimenen brought her long career to a close after a defeat at the hands of tenth seed Tai Tzu Ying. The Finn has the remarkable record of competing at four consecutive Olympic Games.

Lin Dan finally made his entrance on the Olympic stage and without ever getting out of second gear ended the dreams of Irelands Scott Evans in two games. For brief periods of the match Evans troubles the Olympic champion but Super Dan was always in control from start to finish. “This is very disappointing for me. Of course it was always going to be tough against the greatest player badminton has ever seen but I hoped to do better than that.” Said Evans after the defeat.

From a European perspective the 2 metre tall Russian Vladimir Ivanov caused the biggest upset by beating Jen Hao Hsu of Taipei. It was a battle of little against large and Hsu cold never find a way past the Russians defence.
“I have trained so hard before coming to the Olympics but what has pleased me most is how I have managed to remain very consistent throughout the whole year” said a very happy Russian.

Finally there was heartache for the Polish men’s doubles pair of Logosz and Cwalina. The Poles Olympics was prematurely brought to an end after Logosz went over heavily on his ankle. According to reports a suspected Achilles tear has be diagnosed which could end the career of the much respected Polish veteran.

“Logosz had some problems with his Achilles before the tournament and it seemed to go when he made a lunge to retrieve a good drop. This is for sure now our Olympics over” confirmed Cwalina to the gathered media.