The last Europeans dropped out of the YONEX German Open. Big names from Asia will guarantee world class matches in tomorrow's semifinals.
It was not the best day for our European badminton stars at the YONEX German Open 2023. All four remaining pairs lost their quarterfinal matchups and can now prepare for the All England starting next Tuesday in Birmingham, England.
Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue did not have their best day and fell short to the Japanese pair Hiroki Midorikawa and Natsu Saito 16-21, 13-21. "We knew that they are really good in defence and like to play with speed. I think we played too much of their game today and could not put them under pressure. It was tough", said Delphine Delrue after the match.
It was also the last day at the German Open for Stefani and Gabriela Stoeva (Bulgaria) as well as for Lasse Mølhede and Jeppe Bay (Denmark). Both lost their quarterfinal matches in Mülheim an der Ruhr.
In the evening, Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen were the last Europeans with a chance to reach the semifinals. The German crowd gave their all to support the Danes against Choi Sol Gyu and Kim Won Ho (Korea) but in the end it was not enough and the Koreans celebrated their 24-22, 21-17 victory after 50 minutes.
We won't see any European players in tomorrow's semifinals but stars like Kento Momota, Akane Yamaguchi, An Se Young and Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping will put on a great show at the German Open.
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Semifinal action will start on Saturday at 12:00pm.