Line Højmark Kjaersfeldt has been hunting for a final since 2021 and the moment she secured it, there was an emotional release.
The Dane faced Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmour, a familiar opponent. The latter got the better of the Dane in a European Games quarterfinal earlier this year, however, Kjaersfeldt’s attacking play today was the big difference.
Despite a late comeback threat, Kjaersfeldt held on to win 21-16, 21-17, and will face USA’s Beiwen Zhang who progressed to the final following a withdrawal from Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong.
Fine French performance
The fans got a glimpse of the future when 18-year-old, Alex Lanier, took on the former world number two, Chou Tien Chen. It turned in to a real battle of grit and mental determination.
The reigning European Junior champion pushed Chou to a third game and could see the finishing line up ahead. However, Chou, 33, just had too much know-how to close out these tight matches. The semifinal ended with a Chou victory shout, finishing 21-19, 19-21, 21-15.
In the final, Chou will face the in-form Lee Cheuk Yiu who put together a solid win over another Frenchman, Toma Junior Popov, winning 21-17, 21-12.
Heartbreak for home fans
The crowd in Saarbrucken really got behind their countrymen Mark Lamsfuss/ Marvin Seidel who had a big task on their hands, the Olympic champions, Lee Yang/ Wang Chi-Lin.
The locals, who recently witnessed their third-tier football team defeat Bayern Munich, believed in another upset. Lamsfuss/ Seidel pushed this idea close in the second game but came up just short, 15-21, 19-21.
Lee/ Wang will play China’s Liu Yu Chen/ Ou Xuan Yi who came through a mighty scare from Andreas Søndergaard/ Jesper Toft. Despite being up by six points in the decider, the Danes narrowly lost out, 17-21, 21-19, 17-21.
The revenge shot narrowly missed
Danes Mathias Christiansen/ Alexandra Bøje were looking for revenge after bowing out in the quarterfinals of this tournament last year against Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto/ Lisa Ayu Kusumawati.
A match that was one-side last time, turned into a thriller that really got the crowd going. The Indonesians managed to find a nice rhythm just at the right time to close out the match, 15-21, 21-17, 21-15.
They will play the two left-handers, Tang Chun Man/ Tse Ying Suet, also coming through a three-game match and Tse struggling with a back strain against Ye Hong Wei/ Lee Chia Hsin.
The finals, taking place tomorrow Sunday 5 November, will be starting at 2pm (CET). You can watch the matches on
BWF TV.