General

(Photo: Badmintonphoto)
First French Open gold for Axelsen
Date: 10/31/2022 3:19 PM
Published by : Sara Gonzalez Martinez (BEC)
Axelsen claimed the French Open title after a final against fellow Dane Rasmus Gemke in what has been a successful tournament for many European stars.

There were many who hoped to see the world number one winning the gold on home soil at the Denmark Open. Viktor Axelsen had to sadly wave goodbye to the tournament already in the quarterfinals. However, the Dane has had a remarkable run in the French Open in which he had not claimed the title yet.

Facing some of the world’s best — including Loh Kean Yew, who beat him recently in the Denmark Open —, Axelsen reached the finals to face fellow Danish player Rasmus Gemke, who had been struggling with injuries in the last year but has used the Super 750 tournament to show that he’s ready for more great results.

The Danish players had also met less than two weeks ago in Odense. Gemke could not keep up with Axelsen’s tempo and so the reigning European champion won the final 21-14 21-15.

Silver for Marin and Tabeling/ Piek

There was another reigning European champion fighting in the French Open finals yesterday. After a big comeback in the European Championships in April in which she took the title on home soil, Carolina Marin hadn’t made it to any finals since then.

The Spaniard had to compete for the gold against He Bing Jiao, whom she had last played against in this year’s World Championships — a three-game match in which Marin won. This time, it was also a three-game thriller. With a close final game, the one-hour and sixteen-minutes long match ended as a win for He, making it her second Super 750 gold in two weeks.

Robin Tabeling/ Selena Piek also competed in the final. They faced China’s Zheng Si Wei/ Huang Ya Qiong, who had just come from winning the Denmark Open. The Dutch pair got to turn around the score after losing the first game but making a comeback on the second, but the Chinese pair took the win in a close final game. This silver medal makes it the third medal overall of the year for Tabeling/ Piek — having also won a gold in the Dutch Open gold and a bronze in the European Championships.

Even more medals for Europe

Two more European pairs won medals, despite having to leave the Stade Pierre de Coubertin earlier than the other medallists, on Saturday. Mark Lamsfuss/ Isabel Lohau lost their semifinal against Zheng Si Wei/ Huang Ya Qiong, who would then go on to become the champions. The German pair secured a great win in the quarterfinals against Feng Yan Zhe/ Huang Dong Ping but could not get past Zheng/ Huang.

Ben Lane/ Sean Vendy also secured a bronze medal in Paris. The English duo reached the semifinals after some hard-fought matches, including a win against Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian/ Muhammad Rian Ardianto, but lost to Lu Ching Yao/ Yang Po Han, Chinese Taipei.

This week, the world’s best will be meeting in Saarbrücken for yet another edition of the Hylo Open, to take place from Tuesday 1 November until Sunday 6 November.
©badmintoneurope.com. All rights reserved.

Related news
27/03/2024
EOC Executive Committee awards 2027 European Games to Istanbul
The European Olympic Committee...

27/03/2024
Madrid Spain Masters day 2: Victories, upsets, and excitement on court.
French siblings sweep to victo...

26/03/2024
A first action-packed day unfolds at the Spain Masters
The Madrid Spain Masters 2024 ...

26/03/2024
Spain Masters begins today with an unexpected withdrawal!
Madrid is buzzing with excitem...

25/03/2024
Lane/ Vendy and Marin, victorious at Swiss Open
The Swiss Open concluded this ...

24/03/2024
Marin and Lane/Vendy secure finalist spots at the Swiss Open
The semifinals have concluded ...

More news