The 2012 Iceland International, which was held in Reykjavik for the 16th time, saw many talented youngsters from established badminton nations fighting for world ranking point as well as and some known players like Tien Chen Chou of Chinese Taipei, who is currently ranked number 33 on BWF world rankings.
The International Series tournament (5.000 Dollars) in the Icelandic capital Reykjavik started with eight qualifying matches on the Friday and ended after 120 matches had been played with the Sunday's finals.
Tien Chen Chou and Chiang Mei Hui of Chinese Taipei became the most successful players of the tournament as they won the men's singles, women's singles category and both grabbed also the mixed doubles title.
In the finals of the men´s singles, Tien Chen Chou won over Ha Young Woong of Korea in straight games. Tien Chen Chou was the top seeded one at the tournament - but this was only the fifth tournament that Ha Young Woong played in in his career.
In the finals of the women’s singles event, Chiang Mei Hui of Chinese Taipei beat young Russian talent Romina Gabdullina.
An all-European affair between Scotland and Wales was the the final in men's doubles. It was a fight where the experience won. Joe Morgan and Nic Strange of Wales beat Martin Campbell and Patrick Machugh from Scotland in two games.
The women's doubles final match was an all-Korean affair. The top seeds and World Junior Champions So Hee Lee and Shin Seung Chan beat Ko A Ro and Yoo Hae Won. The eventual champions won all their games without dropping a single game and it was only in the finals that their opponents got more than 10 points. A true class showed by the young Koreans.
In the mixed doubles category, the host had a pair in the finals. Helgi Johannesson and Elin Thora Eliasdottir of Iceland met Tien Chen Chou and Chiang Mei Hui,the top seeded duo from Chinese Taipei. The Icelandic dio fought against Tien Chen Chou and Chiang Mei Hui well in first game but in the second, Tien Chen Chou and Chiang Mei Hui showed their strength and won easily.
All final matches were streamed live on sporttv.is/ibeinni/icelandinternational.
To view all of the results from the Iceland International 2012 –
click here
The finals results:
MS: ChouTien Chen (TPE) - Ha Young Woong (KOR) 21:19 23:21
WS: Chiang Mei Hui (TPE) - Romina Gabdullina (RUS) 21:17 21:17
MD: Morgan/Strange (WAL) - Campbell/Machugh (SCO) 21:17 21:16
WD: Lee/Shin Chan (KOR) - Ko/Yoo Won (KOR) 21:18 21:16
MX: Chou/Chinang Hui (TPE) - Johannesson/Eliasdottir (ISL) 21:16
Article and photo by Badmintonsamband Islands