It was a case of history repeating itself this afternoon in Beauvais as the Russian champions Primorye Vladivostok (pictured) put back to back victories together and once again it was Danish champions TSS who fell to the Russian sword.

From the outset the tournament was billed as a rematch of the 2012 edition in Pecs, Hungary where the big two of European badminton would once again go head to head in the most prestigious of European club finals.

Both TSS and Primorye dominated their groups and in the knockout stages blew all their collective opposition apart. When the line-up for this afternoon’s final was released it was widely expected that this 2013 edition would go the full seven match distance.

Sozonov & Sorokina set the tempo

The opening match in hindsight set the tone for the whole tie as Valeria Sorokina and Ivan Sozonov blew European mixed doubles champions Robert Mateusiak & Nadiezda Zieba off the court as the Poles looked to be completely out of sorts and off the pace.

It was only straight after the match the reason for the European Champions misfiring performance was revealed as Mateusiak had been feeling sick all morning which clearly effected his performance.

“I felt slow and sick today in the mixed doubles and I was not able to perform to my normal level. I felt it was better to let Hans-Kristian Vittinghus try his best in the men’s doubles as my body was just not up for it” said a disappointed Mateusiak.

The Russians took the opening game in two sets with Sozonov summing up their performance as near perfect.

“We could not have played much better today. This mixed doubles was to be the key match for us to beat TSS and once we won I knew that we had the strength to take the title again in the next few matches”

Olympic medallists wrap it up for Russia

Vladimir Ivanov proved to be the hero of the afternoon for Primorye as the 2m tall Russian made the TSS task almost impossible taking the first men’s singles off world number 15 Hans-Kristian Vittinghus.

A spirited performance from the Dane was not enough to break to 100% tournament record of Ivanov as he gave his team a 2-0 overall lead.

Mette Poulsen pulled one back for TSS in the women’s singles but that was to be the only light in a dark TSS tunnel as Sorokina and Vislova wrapped up the match for Primorye to joyous scenes from their team mates and fans.

“It is great to win this title for a second year and we displayed today how strong we are as a club.” Said a delighted Valeria Sorokina.

It is Primorye who will make the long trip home to Vladivostok as European champions and even though TSS put up a brave fight it is clear that if the Danish giants are to win this title they richly deserve after a pair of defeats they will need to bring the might of all their top players to even contemplate taking down the Russians.

For all results from today’s final click HERE

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Article and Images by Mark Phelan (Live in Beauvais)