India’s Kidambi Srikanth made up for his first-round loss at the Yonex All England Open last fortnight by capturing the Swiss Open 2015 title yesterday.
Top seed Srikanth (below) overcame mid-match trouble against defending champion Viktor Axelsen (Denmark) to prevail 21-15 12-21 21-14 on a day when China swept four of the five titles at stake.
Sun Yu (below), semi-finalist at the All England, decimated the challenge of Busanan Ongbumrungpan (Thailand) in the Women’s Singles final, 21-16 21-12. Bao Yixin/Tang Yuanting continued their triumphant run in Europe, winning their second successive Women’s Doubles title by beating Ayane Kurihara/Naru Shinoya (Japan).
Lu Kai finished with a double. In the Mixed Doubles, Lu and Huang Yaqiong escaped from near-defeat against Liu Cheng/Bao Yixin, while in the Men’s Doubles, Lu and veteran Cai Yun staved off the threat from Malaysia’s Goh V Shem/Tan Wee Kiong.
Srikanth survived a difficult week. He was first tested by young Dane Emil Holst in a three-game third round. Compatriot Ajay Jayaram pushed him close in the semi-finals (17-21 21-15 21-18); Axelsen, in contrast, made the final without dropping a game.
Women’s Singles saw the upset of top seed Wang Yihan (China) in the quarter-finals, a 21-13 21-15 capitulation to Ongbumrungpan. The Thai then edged past Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi (24-22 21-17) in the semi-finals before running into Sun Yu (21-16 21-12).
Sun had survived a tough semi-final over Japan’s Sayaka Takahashi, a 75-minute affair: 21-19 20-22 21-12.
Men’s Doubles third seeds Lu Kai/Cai Yun (below) battled past Malaysia’s Goh/Tan 21-19 14-21 21-17 in just over an hour. Earlier in the week, Lu/Cai were taken to three games by Indonesia’s Angga Pratama/Ricky Karanda Suwardi in the second round.
Recent All England champions Bao Yixin/Tang Yuanting breezed past the competition earlier in the week before encountering resistance from Selena Piek/Eefje Muskens (Netherlands) in the semi-finals. After losing a close second game, Bao/Tang held firm in the decider: 21-12 19-21 21-17.
The final appeared to be one-way traffic with Bao/Tang grabbing the first game at 21-6. Ayane Kurihara/Naru Shinoya made a match of it by taking the second; the Chinese however stamped their authority once more in the third and closed it out 21-6 17-21 21-17.
The big surprise in Mixed Doubles was the upset of top seeds Tontowi Ahmad/Liliyana Natsir in the semi-finals to Liu Cheng/Bao Yixin. The Indonesians were shown the door in straight games: 21-19 21-19.
Liu/Bao had the final in their pocket with two match points in the second game. However, Lu Kai/Yaqiong Yaqiong (above) snatched four straight points and then sprinted away in the decider to win the title: 17-21 22-20 21-13.
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Text by Dev Sukumar | Badmintonphoto