After an amazing Olympics in Paris which caught the world by storm, the BWF World Tour is back! We are excited to see European athletes yet again compete against the best in the world, and we can finally say that we are officially back.
We are kicking off the early Asian part of the tour, which will be hitting Japan, Chinese Taipei, and Korea.
As for how Europeans did in the first round of the Japan Open:
There was a lot of hopefuls looking to proceed to the round of 16, and Europeans did find some success in the first round. Let’s have a look at what happened to European players.
European wins:
Malvika Bansod vs Polina Buhrova
21-23, 19-21
Lee Zii Jia [6] vs Alex Lanier
18-21, 13-21
European losses:
Natsuki Nidaira vs Line Christophersen
21-15, 21-17
Bjarne Geiss/ Jan Colin Voelker vs Choong Hon Jian/ Muhammad Haikal
21-12, 11-21, 16-21
Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo vs Arnaud Merkle
21-19, 21-17
Ornnicha Jongsathapornparn/ Sukitta Suwachai vs Polina Buhrova/ Yevheniia Kantemyr
21-17, 21-17
A huge win for Alex Lanier, managing to beat World Ranked nr 6, and bronze Olympic medallist Lee Zii Jia from Malaysia.
Polina Buhrova also managed to beat India’s Malvika Bansod for the second time in her career, the first time being back at the VICTOR Ukraine International 2021.
Tomorrow, seven different Danish pairs/players will hit the court including Anders Antonsen and Line Kjaersfeldt, looking for their chance to proceed in the tournament, as well as Jan Colin Voelker/ Isabel Lohau.
Look at Badminton Europe’s Instagram and Facebook channel for exclusive photos and focus on European players!