In a unique feel to this year’s All England Open, many high calibre pairs arrived in Birmingham to add to their title collection, while other pairs are gaining valuable experience at a World Tour Super 1000 event.
Hendra Setiawan/ Mohammad Ahsan, two-time All England winners, faced a tough opening match in England’s emerging young talents of Ben Lane/ Sean Vendy, who had that semifinal appearance at the World Tour Finals in January.
Ahsan, 33, is making his 14th consecutive appearance at the All England Open. Together with his partner, Hendra Setiawan, they are seeking their third title and come into today knowing that they had the upper hand against the English duo at the Thailand Open, winning in 30 minutes.
However, the three-time world champions had to squeeze out every last drop of their experience to survive today. Ahsan/ Setiawan battled hard to win the opening game 21-18. The home pair continued the fight into the second game, and much like the first game, they were taking it in turns to score points. The English pair had a four-point run towards game point and hung on 21-19 to force a decider.
- We played a good game. We were a bit unlucky in the end, a couple of net cords went in their favour. It's tough to take at the moment because we had our chances. Their experience in the big points matters, Vendy said honestly.
Lane/ Vendy at 15-12 up in the decider perhaps for a moment began thinking if today was their day. However, Ahsan/ Setiawan have been in this situation countless times before and managed to stay cool and found a way to win, 21-18, 19-21, 21-19.
-We're disappointed, but when it comes to it at the end they don't allow you to take your chances. They're so good at winning, they were just better than us at the end. We've definitely improved in the last six months. We needed to play the big points better. At 20-19, Setiawan played a return and got on the attack straight away, Lane explained.
-We're really happy to get the chance to play at the moment, and we're grateful to Badminton England and BWF for putting the event on, Lane added.
The Minions also went to three
Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/ Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo, also chasing their third All England title, are back after missing out on the Asian leg due to Sukamuljo contracting COVID-19. They had to go to three against a new-look English pair but came out 21-12 19-21 21-9 winners over Matthew Clare/Ethan Van Leeuwen.
-They played well today. We haven’t faced them before, so we were not used to their game. We really missed playing tournaments; we haven’t played for a year. We missed the atmosphere. It’s really nice to be back here. I really want to win again this year, because it’s special. We really want to do our best for the fans, Gideon stated.
Great learning experience
Rory Easton/ Zach Russ, another young English pair succumbed to a 4-21 9-21 loss to reigning champions, Hiroyuki Endo/ Yuta Watanabe. However, they were over the moon to get this experience under their belts so early.
-It was a great learning experience for us. We got better through the match, but conditions were hard to deal with and it was difficult. We can reflect on what they do a lot better than us, and every time you play in a big arena you get better at dealing with conditions, drifts and speeds, Easton said.
Callum Hemming/ Steven Stallwood get their dream come true
Callum Hemming/Steven Stallwood came from behind and fought for a 16-21 21-18 21-17 win over Daniel Lundgaard/Mathias Thryrri of Denmark.
-We've been friends since we were young, and we first attended the All England together aged ten. We came here to watch for five or six years on the trot, hoping that one day we could come and play. Today our dream has come true, Hemming explained.
-Emotions are all over the place at the minute. Just very, very proud to play at the All England. The aim was to stay disciplined and stick to our tactics. We know our level, against any pair if we bring that level, anything can happen. The goal is just to keep enjoying it, at the moment these tournaments aren't coming around very often so we've got to enjoy every second. Hemming added.
-To play my first game here, with Callum, and win is a fairytale ending. It's been a rollercoaster, Stallwood ended.